Parliament today: LoP Rahul Gandhi meets Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla

Updated: Dec 11th, 2024


The proceedings in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday witnessed chaos as the INDIA bloc has submitted a notice to bring a motion for removing House Chairman Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Alongside, the house was up in fumes as members from the opposition parties were adamant on their demands for discussion over the Adani indictment row.

Meanwhile, Congress MP from Raebareli and the leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi met LS speaker Om Birla. He urged the speaker to conduct discussions over all the issues, including the Adani issue.

He also urged the speaker to expunge the ‘derogatory’ remarks made against him in the Lok Sabha.

Lok Sabha was once again echoing with demands of discussion over the Manipur issue, as Jorhat MP from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi, asked when will PM Narendra Modi visit the crisis-hit state. Gogoi also asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to address the house over this situation.

Opposition MPs also welcomed the ruling party members with a rose and national flag, a gesture which seemingly marked their request to let the house proceedings continue.

However, following uproar over a string of issues, the house was adjourned till 2 pm.

The scenario in the upper house remained similar, and was adjourned to Thursday.

Notably, the opposition bloc had accused Dhankhar of “partisan” conduct as the chairman of the Upper House and submitted the notice for motion on Tuesday.

The move, spearheaded by the Congress, comes in the wake of verbal clashes between opposition parties and RS Chairman Dhankhar.

If the motion is moved, the opposition needs a simple majority to get it passed, but they do not have the requisite numbers in the 243-member House.

On behalf of the opposition, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain submitted the notice signed by 60 opposition MPs under Article 67-B of the Constitution. These MPs include those from the Congress, RJD, Trinamool Congress, CPI, CPI(M), JMM, AAP, DMK, and Samajwadi Party.

Congress members maintained that such biased handling of Rajya Sabha proceedings undermines the democratic process, prompting the INDIA bloc parties to collectively bring the motion forward. They insisted that it was a "strong message to fight for parliamentary democracy".

Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala criticised the ruling party, alleging that it is disrupting Parliament to avoid debates on critical issues like corruption, inflation, and unemployment. "This is a black chapter in parliamentary history. The government is running away from discussions and wasting Parliament's time," he said.

Surjewala claimed this marked the first instance in India's 75-year history where the government itself is allegedly obstructing Parliament's functioning.

The opposition parties, including the Congress, have also raised concerns about unequal treatment in the Rajya Sabha. They allege that while the ruling party is allowed to express its views even amidst disruptions, the opposition is denied the same opportunity. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari stated that the opposition has always been willing to engage in debates and discussions but accused the BJP of deliberately adjourning the House to avoid addressing pressing issues such as unemployment and recent violence in UP's Sambhal.

The opposition's no-confidence motion signals escalating tensions in Parliament, with both sides accusing each other of obstructing democratic functioning.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday, responding to the Opposition's no-confidence motion against Chairman Dhankhar, said the NDA government holds the majority in the House. "We have a lot of respect for Jagdeep Dhankhar. He is a very knowledgeable person. The notice that has been served against him, which has been signed by 60 MPs, I condemn it. The NDA government has a full majority and the majority has trust in the Vice President,” said Rijiju.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)

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