New Delhi: Both houses of Parliament witnessed stormy scenes Thursday morning as the proceedings opened with massive sloganeering from the Opposition benches that demanded discussion on the Manipur issue in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm Thursday within five minutes after it convened, with Congress-led Opposition members protesting, seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s exhaustive statement on the Manipur situation in the House.
Wearing black clothes, the Opposition members entered into the Well of the
House, displaying placards and shouting slogans, seeking the Prime Minister’s response to the violence in Manipur.
Speaker Om Birla, who allowed Question Hour proceedings, urged the protesting members to maintain the dignity of the House and resume their seats.
He was particularly annoyed with protesting members surrounding Road and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari with placards, as he was replying to a question by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
“This kind of behaviour is unbecoming of Parliamentary decorum. Members should not disrupt a minister from replying to questions. India is the world’s largest democracy, and this kind of unruly conduct shows us in poor light before the world. I will give you time to raise your concerns, but this kind of behaviour is not acceptable,” Birla said.
As the ruckus continued, he adjourned the House till 2pm.
The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the second time till 2 pm on Thursday amid continuous sloganeering by members of both treasury benches and the opposition.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who was allowed by the chair to raise questions on the statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the latest developments in India’s foreign policy, could not speak in the House due to the uproar.
Soon after the House met at 12 noon, after an initial adjournment, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed Kharge to speak but treasury benches started raising slogans.
The opposition members also countered them and raised slogans, which led to a pandemonium in the House.
Slogans like “kaale kapde, kaala kaam, nahin sahega Hindustan” were heard in the House when the Leader of Opposition rose to speak.
The reference was towards the opposition members who were wearing black clothes as a mark of protest for not allowing them to raise the Manipur issue in the House.
After his appeals for order in the House failed, the chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.
The Rajya Sabha proceedings were earlier adjourned briefly as opposition members raised slogans during Jaishankar’s statement and when the Leader of the House spoke on the statement.
As the sloganeering continued, Kharge said, “I have not seen a ruling party obstructing an opposition leader. The government itself is obstructing.”
The Chairman said he expected the opposition to raise the issue on the External Affairs minister’s statement after he allowed so by relaxing rule 251.
“You did not listen to the Foreign minister, who was listing out the historical achievements of the country,” Dhankhar said, while pleading with the members to maintain order and then adjourned the House.
Earlier, Jaishankar made a statement on the latest developments related to India’s foreign policy, during which the opposition members started raising slogans.
At one point, the treasury benches started shouting “Modi, Modi”. To counter them, the opposition members shouted “INDIA, INDIA”.
Agencies
