New Delhi, Dec 22 (FN Agency) Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took a dig at the Centre over suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs and termed it ‘conspiracy’ to manage majority in Upper House and pass each Bill amid din. “Government did not resolve the issue of suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs despite our repeated efforts. Even, I was ready to apologise on behalf of the suspended members. This was a conspiracy hatched to manage majority in the Upper House and pass each Bill amid din without any discussion,” Kharge, who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said at a press conference here. Attacking the government, Kharge said, “We wanted discussion on inflation, unemployment, Pegasus, minimum support price (MSP) and Lakhimpur Kheri incident, but the government did not want. Its intention was to distract from important issues and run both the Houses in its way.” On the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, the Congress leader said, “Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra’s son had mowed down farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri.
The SIT constituted by the UP government indicated that this was not an accident, but a conspiracy. If he remains as Minister, it will impact the inquiry. So, we demanded his resignation and kept raising it in both the Houses.” Endorsing Kharge, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha, termed the suspension of the 12 MPs ‘undemocratic’. On the passage of Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which seeks to link voter id with Aadhaar ecosystem, the former Union Minister said, “This is a black law. The outcome will be more dangerous than the three farm laws (which were repealed recently) as it will affect various sections, including minorities and dalits.” Echoing similar sentiments, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was also present, said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have sacked the Minister. We wanted a discussion on the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. The Government was adamant that it won’t reply to any query of Opposition. Through bulldozing it passed Bills.”