NEW DELHI: Uproar over BJP’s allegations linking top Congress leaders with US-based billionaire investor George Soros-funded organisations involved in “anti-India” activities rocked both houses of Parliament which failed to transact any legislative business on Monday.
The BJP intensified its attack on the Congress leadership, demanding Sonia Gandhi disclose her role in a Soros Foundation-funded organisation, and ruling party chief JP Nadda called for a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the issue, asserting it is a matter of internal and external security.
The Congress dismissed the allegations, accusing the BJP of putting at stake India’s ties with another country to divert attention from the charges against Gautam Adani, and continued its protests for a JPC probe against the business tycoon.
The noisy protests in the Lok Sabha, which also saw opposition members submitting notices to move a privilege motion against BJP member Nishikant Dubey for remarks against Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, led to repeated adjournments till 3 pm before the proceedings were called off for the day.
Opposition members were in the well when the Lok Sabha convened at 11 am and an upset Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings till noon.
“Question Hour is significant. Allow the House to function properly. But you don’t want to allow the House to run. The country wants the House to run,” he said before adjourning the proceedings.
In Rajya Sabha, members of treasury benches raised slogans and demanding answers from the Congress over reports of alleged links with Soros, triggering protests from opposition. The House was adjourned amid uproar with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar cautioning that the “functioning of the deep state affects us more perniciously than the Covid disease.”
BJP move to discuss Soros sparks RS chaos
The Rajya Sabha witnessed chaos after Leader of House JP Nadda said BJP members were agitated Congress leaders’ links with George Soros Foundation and wanted a discussion, but Opposition members rejected the allegation. “The link between the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific (FDL-AP) and Soros is a matter of concern. Its co-president is a member of this House,” he said. LoP Mallikarjun Kharge asked how the chairman was allowing the BJP members to raise the issue when he had rejected their notices in this regard. Congress member Jairam Ramesh said that when the Chair has rejected notices under Rule 267, the issues mentioned therein should not be allowed to be raised.
