For one full month — the entire Monsoon Session — Parliament was virtually washed out. Who created the logjam in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha? What left Opposition MPs with no option but to raise slogans and repeatedly enter the well? Why were the government’s floor managers uninterested even in holding back-channel talks with representatives from major parties in the Opposition? It was a combination of arrogance and defensiveness. This is a government so unsure even of its hubris that it doesn’t feel confident enough to stand up for its actions. Instead, it resorts to a serial sabotage of Parliament.

Here are the facts of how it was done.

i. Reject every single notice given by the Opposition to discuss any issue of national importance (including the Special Intensive Revision).

ii. Come up with two “reasons” to avoid having a meaningful discussion on the floor of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Excuse number one: The matter is sub judice. Excuse number two: The Election Commission cannot be discussed on the floor of Parliament.

iii. Even when the Opposition made a sincere effort to make Parliament function, the government dug in its heels. Let me tell you, the Opposition was even open to the idea of taking up a discussion on this subject: “Urgent Need to........

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