NEW DELHI: Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday claimed that he got a “sore throat” after repeatedly urging the opposition to let the Parliament run smoothly during Monsoon session.Rijiju said that accused the opposition MPs of “running away” rather than asking questions from the government.”In a parliamentary democracy, the Parliament belongs to the Opposition. The government is liable to answer. The Opposition has to ask questions. What would the government do if the ones who are supposed to ask questions ran away?” Rijiju said.”We have been asking them not to cause a disturbance. My throat got sore because I had to shout and ask the Opposition not to create a ruckus,” he added.”With folded hands, we have requested the Congress party to participate in the discussion. There are many members of Congress who can speak well and are also knowledgeable. They will face issues if I name anyone… If Rahul Gandhi cannot speak or he does not know how to speak, that does not mean that others should also not be allowed to speak,” he further said.All through the Monsoon session, the INDIA bloc continued their protests against SIR, inside and outside Parliament, accusing the ECI of “vote theft”. Leaders who vocally criticised the exercise were Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, AAP MP Sanjay Singh. The protests continued since the start of the session, with ruling party MPs accusing the opposition of disrupting proceedings. The anti-BJP bloc also protested with banners that read “Stop vote chori”, and described the ongoing revision of electoral rolls as “Silent invisible rigging.”According to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla the lower house worked only for 37 hours in the Monsoon session, while the Upper House worked just 41 hours.
