Is House inferior to X?: MP Brittas slams govt on trade deal announcement on social media
Rajya Sabha MP questions bypassing Parliament, flags farm sector concerns during Motion of Thanks debate
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Centre for announcing the Indo-US trade deal on social media platform X instead of making a statement in Parliament, asking whether the House had become “inferior to Elon Musk’s X platform”.
Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Upper House, Brittas criticised the government for what he described as a disregard for parliamentary convention and raised concerns about the potential impact of the proposed trade deal on India’s agricultural sector.
“Is this House more important than Elon Musk’s X platform? That’s the question,” Brittas said, objecting to the announcement being made on social media at 9 pm while Parliament was in session.
He said it was a long-standing convention that major policy decisions taken during a parliamentary session are first communicated to the House.
“The healthy convention of this country is that any policy decision during a Parliament session, any important decision, should be announced on the floor of the House, rather than on the X platform,” the CPI(M) leader said.
Questioning the timing of the announcement, Brittas remarked that the Prime Minister appeared to be “alert and awake at 11 pm at night to respond to his (US President’s) teasers”, while Cabinet ministers took to social media to “shower compliments” on Donald Trump.
He alleged that the government’s handling of the announcement undermined parliamentary scrutiny and accountability, particularly on an issue with far-reaching economic and strategic implications.
Brittas also cautioned that the Indo-US trade deal could have serious consequences for India’s farm sector, though he said details of the agreement had not been placed before Parliament for discussion.
The CPI(M) leader accused the government of compromising India’s sovereignty by entering into major international agreements without adequate debate or transparency in Parliament.
The remarks triggered reactions from treasury benches as the debate on the Motion of Thanks continued in the Rajya Sabha.
The government has maintained that it follows due process in international negotiations, though it has not yet made a detailed statement in Parliament on the contours of the Indo-US trade deal.