New Delhi: Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm Monday after the Opposition continued to disrupt proceedings over the alleged NEET paper leak and police action against protesting students, marking yet another day of the Monsoon Session without any legislative business.
The House was earlier adjourned till noon. When it reconvened after the hour-long break, Congress member Pramod Tiwari (Rajasthan) raised the NEET paper leak issue.
He said that under Article 75, the Council of Ministers was collectively responsible to the people and that Parliament was the supreme forum to explain what had happened.
Tiwari alleged that students, including girls, had been beaten during the protests, and demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah inform the House about the matter.
Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan urged members to allow Question Hour to proceed. However, DMK member Tiruchi Siva (Tamil Nadu) intervened, stating that the party had given a notice under Rule 267 seeking a ban on the NEET examination. He acknowledged that there were precedents against accepting such notices for long periods, but argued that an exception could be made.
Siva added that while the government could do many things, it could not give back the lives of those who had committed suicide over the issue.
The Chairman then allowed CPI(M) member John Brittas to make a relevant point. Brittas said that India, described as the mother of democracy, had witnessed its capital rinsed with the blood of innocent children of the country.
When the Chairman asked him to specifically raise his point, another member began referring to the Home Minister’s earlier remark that students were above all posts. Before the member could complete the statement, the Chairman adjourned the House till 2 p.m., seeing no let-up in the ruckus and disorder.
This is the sixth sitting day and the second week of the Monsoon Session. So far, no substantial business has been transacted in the Upper House due to continuous disruptions over the NEET controversy and related student protests.
