NEW DELHI: Amid pandemonium created by the Opposition with demands for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the Hindenburg report and the revocation of the suspension of a Congress MP, the first round of the Budget session of Rajya Sabha was adjourned till March 13 on Monday.
The session was marred by the disruptions caused by the Opposition remaining adamant on the demand for a JPC probe into the allegations against the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group. The Congress MPs also created a ruckus against the suspension of Rajani Patil for allegedly sharing a video clip of proceedings of the House on social media.
“The Congress MP has been suspended by the chairman under pressure from the Modi government,” alleged Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and others. Irked at this, RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said. “Leader of Opposition, you have said so many times that the chair is working under pressure from the government. These words are deleted and you are violating your right to remain on the floor of the House”.
The RS Chairman’s repeated appeals to the Opposition members to bring order in the House went unheeded and he eventually adjourned the House. Throughout the session, the Opposition members continued raising the demand for a JPC probe on the Adani issue and revocation of Rajani Patil’s suspension.
In the same vein, when Mallikarjun Kharge started speaking, the members from the treasury benches started raising slogans that also created pandemonium for some time in the House. Several members of Opposition also trooped into the Well of the House protesting against Patil’s suspension and demanding a JPC probe in to the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group.
Peeved by the situation, Dhankhar said, “The whole world is watching us. It is beyond my comprehension how members can behave like this and attack the Constitution”. Earlier, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari had urged the Chair to revoke Patil’s suspension in the best traditions of the House and order a JPC probe. As the ruckus continued from the Opposition side with allegations against the Chair, Leader of the House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal termed it as an insult of the House.
He also asked Opposition MPs to first apologise for their behaviour during PM Modi’s speech while replying to the Motion of Thanks. “Only after that, your demand for revocation of suspension deserves to be considered,” he remarked.
This further infuriated the Opposition MPs who resorted to more slogans. Lok Sabha too was adjourned on Monday for a month-long recess and will meet again on March 13.
Rahul Gandhi gets breach of privilege notice over remarks on PM
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been asked to reply to a breach of privilege notice sent against him by two BJP MPs over his speech in Parliament on February 7 on the Hindenburg-Adani row. He has been asked to furnish a reply by February 15 to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Pralhad Joshi alleged that Rahul Gandhi had misled the House by making unsubstantiated allegations against PM Modi in his speech. Gandhi had levelled several allegations against the Centre which were, incidentally, later expunged from the record. Meanwhile, Congress MP and party leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday wrote to the Speaker defending Rahul Gandhi. “As a representative of the people of this country, Rahul Gandhi raised this issue in the floor of the House and by doing so, he has fulfilled his duty as an elected representative. The issue was raised in ‘public interest’ and ‘for the service of the nation,” he wrote.