A Ritual Interruption

It is now a predictable ritual that the start of every Parliament session is marked by disruptions as the Opposition raises matters it wants discussed immediately. This has little to do with the urgency of the issues and more to do with registering a protest against the government. It is almost a given that the entire opening week of Parliament will see no meaningful proceedings. On July 21, when the Monsoon Session got underway, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla raised an issue with Opposition MPs who entered the well of the House soon after the obituary references to victims of the AI 171 crash were over. The ‘tradition’ of disrupting the opening day, he said, must be done away with, asking the MPs to raise their grouses after Question Hour. The business of carrying placards and sloganeering was more appropriate outside the chamber, Birla said, assuring the government was ready to schedule discussions on issues highlighted by the Opposition. These include Operation Sindoor, the electoral roll revision in Bihar, and India’s foreign policy. The Speaker’s words expectedly fell on deaf ears. The Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, with Congress MPs taking the lead, ensured proceedings remained stalled. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, who often speaks to the media, said the main issue was the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of Bihar’s voter list and the protests were a result of the government failing to commit itself to a discussion. Meanwhile, the government speedily agreed to a discussion on Operation Sindoor in both Houses. The prospects of Parliament functioning during the first week of the Monsoon Session became
even bleaker as news of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s surprise resignation spread in the evening.

When Disruption Works

The morning’s proceedings in Rajya Sabha the day after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned began on a deceptively sedate note with Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh reading out a clutch of notices submitted by MPs across party lines on the poll panel’s voter list revision in Bihar and other issues. The attendance was patchy too, somewhat a surprise given Dhankhar’s shock resignation. But as soon as Singh asked a minister to respond to a question submitted by MDMK’s Vaiko, the Opposition was on its feet demanding an explanation to the circumstances surrounding Dhankhar’s decision. One MP has submitted a notice on the subject too. It did not take Singh even three minutes to adjourn the House, an indication that for once the treasury benches were not overly keen on the House functioning.

Meet and Greet

The first day of the Monsoon Session saw a lot of ‘meet and greet’ bonhomie between MPs despite BJP and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc exchanging sharp words ahead of Parliament convening. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi could be seen meeting MPs effusively within Parliament premises. Part of one of the all-party delegations led by BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad that visited foreign capitals to explain Operation Sindoor, the camaraderie seems to be continuing. Chaturvedi and Prasad could be seen in a jovial mood outside the gate through which MPs enter Parliament.

No Rights for Absentees

Rahul Gandhi often complains he is not allowed to speak in Lok Sabha. A part of his grouse is that the microphone is turned off. Lok Sabha officials say while the chair has on occasion expressed reservations with his comments, Gandhi is usually not rushed. But once another MP is called, the microphone switches off and the next speaker gets the mic. Gandhi is often not in the House in the afternoon when bills are discussed. If he were present, the leader of the Opposition would be able to make an intervention, briefly, even when he is not listed to speak.

Facing Quantum Threats

In an event that did not gather as much attention as it deserved, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and cybersecurity service provider SISA released a report outlining measures required to prepare India for the likely threats arising from Quantum computing. While it speeds up computing, Quantum computing can also crack existing protection protocols. Given uncertainties regarding global supply chains, the ministry’s secretary, S Krishnan, stressed on an indigenous ecosystem.

A Forgotten Axis

With US President Donald Trump targeting friends and foes alike, it was perhaps not surprising to hear of Russia and China speak of reviving the RIC (Russia, India, China) process that had pretty much slipped from public memory. India’s response has been cautious, but it has not dismissed the possibilities. As India-US ties enter an unpredictable phase, despite several areas of convergence, it makes sense for New Delhi to hedge its bets until better sense prevails in Washington. Trump’s overwhelming obsession with trade has distorted the relationship that may recover if a bilateral trade deal works out. But that is still in the works.

Recovering Ayurvedic Scripts

The Centre conducted two national level workshops on the ‘transliteration’ of rare Ayurvedic manuscripts by roping in young Ayurveda and Sanskrit scholars to work on over 1,600 pages of ancient texts. The effort is a significant step to preserve India’s traditional wisdom under the Gyan Bharatam Mission which is systematically locating, digitising and decoding rare Ayurvedic texts. The mission aims to unlock timeless traditional knowledge to address contemporary health challenges and strengthen India’s leadership in traditional medicine.

Ayurvedic ScriptsDonald TrumpI.N.D.I.A.Indian ParliamentJagdeep DhankharRahul Gandhi