NEW DELHI: Opposition parties led by the Congress on Monday again raised the issue of breach of Parliament security in the Rajya Sabha, prompting Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to adjourn the House till 2 p.m.
Initially, the house was adjourned till 11: 30 a.m, however uproar by opposition over Parliament security breach issue, the proceedings were adjourned till 2 p.m.
Opposition MPs said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have made statements on the issue outside the Rajya Sabha, their demand for a discussion on the issue in the House is not being allowed.
Dhankhar rejected 22 notices given by opposition MPs under Rule 267, calling for setting aside the business of the day to take up a discussion on the issue of breach of security at the Parliament, saying "they do not merit admittance". The chairman did not mention the subject of the notices.
Opposition MPs rose in their places, demanding that the Chair at least mention the issue. When the Chair refused their demand, they started raising slogans.
The Congress' K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Rajeev Shukla said the prime minister and the home minister have spoken on the issue outside but opposition parties are not being allowed to raise the issue inside the House.
A few members were standing in the aisles, holding placards. As slogan-shouting continued, Dhankhar said he had seen some members committing grave misconduct and adjourned the House till 2 p.m.
Lok Sabha adjourned:
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 p.m. on Monday due to protests by opposition members who were demanding a statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his resignation over the issue of breach of Parliament security.
After the House paid tributes to Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who passed away on Saturday, Speaker Om Birla told the House about the steps taken by the Lok Sabha secretariat following the security breach incident on December 13 and sought cooperation from all members to run the House smoothly. However, the opposition members were on their feet demanding a statement from Shah and his resignation.
Birla objected to the placards being brought into the House, saying it lowers the dignity of the House.
The opposition was also demanding action against BJP MP Pratap Simha, who had authorised the visitor passes for the two men who last week jumped inside the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery with smoke canisters.
Earlier, the speaker said that the whole House has expressed concern over the "unfortunate" incident that had taken place on December 13. He said several steps were taken to beef up the security of Parliament while several suggestions given by the members were accepted too and more steps are likely to be taken soon.
A high-level inquiry has been ordered and its investigation is going on while a high-powered committee has also been constituted by Parliament to go into the issue, he said.
Birla said concrete action will be taken so that no such incident takes place in the future.
He, however, said several incidents like sloganeering and throwing of papers by the visitors from the gallery had taken place in the past too, besides one incident of spraying.
"Whatever steps will be taken, it will be taken after taking the House into confidence. Unfortunately, the issue (security breach) has been politicised and some people have tried to link that to the suspension of some MPs," he said.
As many as 12 Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP were suspended for the remainder of the session for disrupting the proceedings of the House while protesting against the Parliament security breach incident.
The speaker said the suspension of the MPs has nothing to do with the December 13 incident.
"I feel pain when a member is suspended from the House. When we framed the rules, we decided that the dignity of the House will be maintained, there will be no sloganeering and no one would carry placards. As a speaker, I want to run the House smoothly. People of the country also want that. Debate and discussions are part of a healthy democracy," he said.
Birla said he wants to appeal to every member to cooperate for the sake of the nation.
"But there will be no placards and no sloganeering. This House belongs to you. It is my responsibility as a speaker to ensure your security. Whatever necessary steps to be taken, we will take. We will take help from the government. We will find out solution to all of your concerns," he said.
Birla also announced the resignation of Hanuman Beniwal, who was elected from Rajasthan's Nagaur constituency.
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack last Wednesday, two men -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released coloured smoke and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by the MPs.
Two others, including a woman, were detained outside the Parliament complex for staging a protest.