NEW DELHI, Dec 10:
The war over National Herald case hotted up further today with the Congress members completely paralysing Rajya Sabha for the third straight day and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attacking the party saying India has not accepted the diktat ‘Queen’ is above law, a sharp but veiled dig at Sonia Gandhi.
Like the previous two days, proceedings in Rajya Sabha were washed out as Congress members continued to create uproar over the Herald case, triggering protests from the ruling side which contended that the House was being held “hostage”.
The Upper House was repeatedly adjourned and the final adjournment for the day came minutes after 3 pm because of relentless shouting of slogans against the Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Congress members who were in the Well all the time.
Trouble started soon after the House met for the day with Congress members raising anti-Government slogans over the summons issued by a Delhi court to party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The noisy scenes first forced Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the House till 1130 hours and then again till noon. Kurien also got the listed papers of the day laid on the table and then called for Zero Hour mentions, as noisy scenes continued.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi expressed strong object to the opposition’s behaviour.
“Ministers are sitting in the House to answer questions of members. If some members are not seeking to ask questions, why are other members being prevented from doing so? Some people cannot hold the House to ransom. Unfortunately, some people are taking this House hostage. The House needs your protection,” he told Chairman Hamid Ansari during Question Hour.
Congress members continued slogan-shouting like “Modi teri tanashahi nahi chalegi (Prime Minister’s authoritarianism will not be tolerated).”
BJP members were also on their feet as Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad reiterated that the Government was ready for discussion on “all issues”.
“We are ready for a debate on all the issues, including the National Herald case and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister’s issue. We are ready for a debate right away. Why is Parliament not allowed to function…They are running away from debate. Start discussion on…On all issues,” he said amid noise.
Similar scenes were repeated after every adjournment before Deputy Chairman P J Kurien called it a day a little after 3 pm.
In the evening, Jaitley took to Facebook to mount a strong attack on the Congress party saying it has created a “chakravyuh” (trap) from which it has to extricate itself by facing court and not by disrupting Parliament. (PTI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel