Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Thursday asked Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to "echo the sentiments" of the Opposition, which has been demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's presence in the House, to the Union minister.
The request came as the House faced repeated disruptions during Question Hour after it met at noon.
The Chair repeatedly asked protesting members not to raise slogans during proceedings and assured them that they would be given an opportunity to present their views.
Radhakrishnan then called Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak. However, objections from members of the Treasury benches led to a heated exchange between Opposition and ruling party members.
"If I don't read the rules, if I don't read my matter, should I read what you (Rijiju) give? It's my right- what to speak, when to speak, how to speak," Kharge said.
The Opposition continued to demand Shah's presence in the House to make a statement on police action against demonstrators protesting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak in the national capital last month.
Kharge said the Opposition was raising genuine questions concerning the country and its 140 crore people.
"We are asking the Home Minister and the Prime Minister to come to the House. We request the Chair to direct the Home Minister to come and give a statement. We are ready to discuss it," he said.
Kharge said that in the same House, late BJP leader Arun Jaitley had said disruptions were part of parliamentary democracy.
"But here, when we are asking genuine questions, they are escaping!" the Leader of Opposition (LoP) said.
The Chair then asked Rijiju to "echo the sentiments" of the Opposition to the Home Minister. "Now I request you to consider his (Kharge's) request. He requested the Home Minister come to the House... As a Parliamentary Affairs Minister, you can echo the sentiments of the opposition to the HM," Radhakrishnan said.
Earlier, the Upper House was adjourned until noon within half an hour of the day's proceedings beginning at 11 am due to slogan-shouting by Opposition members.
When the Rajya Sabha reconvened at noon, it was adjourned again until 2.15 pm and later for another hour and eventually for the day amid uproar by Opposition parties demanding Shah's presence in the House.
(With inputs from PTI)
