Parliamentary Parody – Scolded for Mockery

The mock session saw Lalu and Mulayam as ‘joint prime ministers’.

The man at whose behest the Indian opposition last week staged a ‘mock’ Parliament session abstained from an all-party meet on 25 August when various political leaders expressed regret over the one-and-a-half-hour drama in  the Lok Sabha.

Lalu Prasad, who floated the idea and who acted as ‘PM’ jointly with Mulayam Singh Yadav, did not attend the meeting in which Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar expressed deep disenchantment with the sham session.

In the mock session, BJP’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde acted as ‘Speaker’, while his party colleague Kirti Azad played the role of ‘Leader of Opposition’. About 70 MPs had participated in the drama that invited a strong rebuke from the real Speaker. Even the BJP leadership was not happy with the fact that some of its MPs took part in it.

The all-party meeting on 25 August was attended by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, BJP Parliamentary Party Chairman LK Advani, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta, CPM leader Basudeb Acharia, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, SP leader Shailendra Kumar and TDP leader Nageshwar Rao.

Interestingly, neither Lalu Prasad nor any other member of the RJD was present in the meeting.  Though Mulayam Singh Yadav was also absent, he did send his representative to join various political parties in expressing regret for the act.

On 20 August, after the Medical Council of India (MCI) Bill was passed without a discussion, the house was adjourned soon after. Lalu Prasad, together with various opposition leaders, decided to ‘mock’ the Government by holding a sham Lok Sabha session. 

Lalu  said that everything that the members wanted to bring up would be discussed threadbare. With about 70 MPs participating, debates were held on various issues, including the Medical Council Bill.

About The Author

Dhirendra K. Jha