Govt laughs last: Opposition crumbles over Ponzi scams on last Lok Sabha day...

The government had the last laugh as the 16th Lok Sabha session drew to a close with the Opposition unity crumbling in a raucous flurry of accusations and counter-accusations. The Treasury benches watched gleefully on Wednesday as the Congress and Left MPs took on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) during the discussion on the bill pushing for a ban on unregulated deposits schemes.

Once the bill, which aims to ban chit fund and Ponzi schemes, was introduced on the floor of the House, Opposition MPs – including members of the Samajwadi Party, TMC, Congress and Left MPs who were united in the well of the House while shouting slogans against the Rafale deal— began accusing each other. The Congress and the Left MPs accused the TMC of fanning the chit fund scam in West Bengal, while the Treasury benches egged them on.

SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, seated next to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, left Congress squirming when he said, "I wish Pradhan Mantriji becomes pradhan mantri again. I wish that all members come back to the House. I congratulate him (Modi) for making efforts to take everyone along.

This comes at a time when Yadav's son, Akhilesh Yadav has joined hands with arch-rival Mayawati to take on BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier in the day, and moments after the Comptroller and Auditor General report on the Rafale aircraft deal, Opposition MPs protested the deal holding colourful paper planes that featured pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and businessman Anil Ambani.

While introducing the Bill, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Modi government has worked hard to put an end to unauthorised deposit schemes. "We have used great legal acumen to draft the bill so that there are no loopholes," he said.

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury supported the bill, saying lakhs of poor people in West Bengal had been looted. "Those who looted lakhs of poor in Bengal are here calling others thieves," he said, leading to a war of words among the Bengal MPs. CPI MP Mohammed Salim accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of coming to power over the Saradha chit fund scam.

Mamata soon registered her displeasure with the UPA chairperson, and Gandhi, while trying to placate her, was heard saying, "We are accusing each other but we are friends," to which the TMC chief responded: "I will remember."

Later, the West Bengal CM said at a protest in Jantar Mantar, "Any fight with the Congress will remain in the state. At the national level, we will fight together, this I am saying from the heart... For the greater interest of the country, I am ready to sacrifice my life, my party. I am ready to sacrifice everything."

This lead to chaos in the well, as TMC MPs, led by Kalyan Banerjee, surrounded Salim and began sloganeering. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah tried to intervene but to no avail.

Amidst all the drama that marked the last day of Lok Sabha, sat SP member from Badaun, Dharmendra Yadav with a bandage wrapped around his head. He said he had been roughed up by BJP workers when former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's helicopter was not given permission to take off from Lucknow to fly to Allahabad. Among the members on the floor of the House was Akhilesh's wife, Dimple Yadav.

All in a Day’s Work

Report Card: 16th LS logs 331 sittings, passes 205 bills; productivity 85%

Billings For The Session

• PM Modi lists key bills passed by the 16th Lok Sabha
• Lok Sabha passes bill to ban unregulated deposit schemes
• Discussion on The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2018
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 to lapse
• Congress leader accuses TMC of siphoning off money via Saradha chit fund scam