New Delhi [India], August 13 (ANI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said that the opposition had "five major achievements" in the monsoon session of Parliament that concluded on Thursday including "deferring of" two proposed Constitution Amendment bills and asserted that the government does not have two-thirds support in the Lok Sabha despite "engineering splits" in Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).
Addressing a joint press conference with the party's Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, Jairam Ramesh said the government was forced to send the FCRA Amendment Bill to the JPC after opposition pressure.
"I believe there are five major achievements regarding this monsoon session. The first achievement is that the One Nation, One Election bill, which the government intended to introduce during this session, has been deferred until the winter session...the second major success concerns the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill that seeks the massive centralization of all universities...the report was deferred until the winter session...the third bill was the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, which proposed the automatic dismissal of ministers, Chief Ministers, and Prime Ministers," he said at a press conference here.
Jairam Ramesh said that the report on the bill to remove PMs and CMs on serious complaints was being finalized, and a clause-by-clause discussion was underway, but it was announced mid-meeting that the report would not be presented in this session.
"For the past 10 days, there was a massive media buzz suggesting the FCRA bill was just around the corner," he said, claiming that the government was adamant that it should be taken up.
"Then came a call from the US Vice President, and we saw the result. There was pressure from us and from various organizations, but the US Vice President's intervention was certainly a factor...there is a fifth achievement as well," he added.
Taking potshots at the government, Jairam Ramesh alleged it was "so eager for a tainted two-thirds majority".
"They engineered splits in parties, breaking the TMC and the Shiv Sena, and attempting to break others, all to secure that tainted two-thirds majority needed to pass the delimitation Bill...now, it has become clear that there is no two-thirds majority. They do not have this majority, and they never will, no matter how hard they try," he said.
The FCRA regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions by individuals, associations and organisations in the country and seeks to ensure that such contributions are used for the purposes for which they are received.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25 and was sent to a joint committee of the two Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on Thursday. (ANI)
Jairam Ramesh highlights five opposition "achievements" in Parliament's monsoon session, says government does not have two-thirds majority
