Tamil and Kannada became the language of unity in Parliament when opposition MPs from different parties raised slogans against the ruling BJP. On Tuesday, July 27, ‘Vendum Vendum Vivadam Vendum’ (we want debate) became the Tamil slogan that united opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha in protest against the BJP trying to forcibly pass Bills in the Upper House. On July 28, Wednesday, Kannada helped unite opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha with many opposition MPs chanting ‘Beku Beku Nyaya Beku’ or we want justice as the Deputy Chairperson spoke. The MPs were protesting to demand an explanation regarding the farm laws and the Pegasus spyware snooping scandal by the BJP.
Normally, slogans in Parliament are in Hindi or English. Perhaps for the first time the Rajya Sabha chants in Tamil, when the entire Opposition shouted ‘Vendum. Vivadam Vendum.’ We want. We want debate — when the Govt was passing Bills forcibly.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 27, 2021
Following the Rajya Sabha session on Tuesday, former Union Environment Minister and Congress MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “Normally, slogans in Parliament are in Hindi or English. Perhaps for the first time the Rajya Sabha chants in Tamil, when the entire Opposition shouted ‘Vendum. Vivadam Vendum.’ We want. We want debate — when the Govt was passing Bills forcibly.”
In the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Punjab Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill led the slogan among protesting opposition MPs. While he chanted, “Vendum vendum,” other opposition MPs chanted “Needhi Vendum” (we want justice). Trinamool Congress MPs protested in Bengali, chanting ‘Hela Khobe’ (game on).
Punjab Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill led the sloganeering in Tamil in Lok Sabha “vendum… vendum…” while MPs from Opposition Parties followed it “needhi vendum”.
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) July 27, 2021
In Tamil, needhi vendum means “we want justice”.
Yeah, Tamil did unite Opposition Parties today https://t.co/UMHfWSVRmp
The monsoon session of the Parliament started on July 19 and opposition parties in both Houses of the Parliament have been raising several issues including rising petrol and diesel prices, the farm laws and farmer protests, rising cooking gas cylinder prices, the Rafale deal, and the Pegasus snooping scandal.
Videos from the Upper House of the Parliament while it was in session shows Deputy Chairperson Harivansh trying to control the sloganeering, however, the entire opposition continued to raise their voices in unison.
Several high profile personalities who are critical of the ruling BJP were snooped on using an Israeli spyware called Pegasus, according to a report released by Amnesty International and 13 media houses across the world. Pegasus is a spyware that helps hack phones, developed by the NSO group, an Israeli surveillance firm. The NSO claims that they sell the spyware only to governments, following which the ruling party in India was accused of snooping on civilians.