Not in the name of Ambedkar

The raucous winter session was a disservice to his legacy, the illustrious track record of the Constitution and Parliament

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The winter session of Parliament that ended on Friday saw a new low in the functioning of the august institution as lawmakers first squabbled over their interpretations of history and then, filed police complaints alleging assault by an Opposition MP on two Treasury bench representatives.

This soapy high drama hardly did justice to the voters who expected their representatives to address issues of the day—from food inflation to national security to the long-term concerns of the climate crisis.

The session, coming in the wake of the BJP winning the crucial assembly elections in Maharashtra, started on a raucous note with the Congress party stalling the House over a US court order on the Adani group.

A section of the Opposition moved an unprecedented notice for the impeachment of vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar for his allegedly partisan conduct in running the Rajya Sabha—the vice chairman has refused to admit the notice.