The Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned briefly during question hour on Wednesday, after the House witnessed unruly scenes over the alleged phone tapping of Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley. s soon as House convened for the day, Samajwadi Party member Naresh Goyal demanded a reply from the government on the issue. He was joined by members from the BSP and Janta Dal (United).
“We have taken note of it. The Delhi Police is examining the matter... People have been arrested and the Leader of the Opposition is aware of it,” said Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla. However, the minister’s statement failed to pacify the Opposition members who demanded a statement from Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.
With the House in uproar, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the House for five minutes. After the House reconvened, Goyal reiterated his demand, but the Chair was insistent that the business would go on as scheduled. BJP deputy leader of the House Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Shinde should reveal the names whose phones were being tapped. However, Shinde said that the government’s position had already been made clear by Shukla.