NEW DELHI: Protests in Parliament over various issues today took an ugly turn in the Rajya Sabha with some members tearing official papers and throwing these towards the Chair besides trying to reach to the microphones on the podium.
Tempers ran high in the Upper House as some members objected to the mention of 10 MPs for action against them for “violation of rules” in the House last week while protesting over various issues.
These protests led to a washout of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha for the fourth straight working day.
Lok Sabha too could not transact any business because of pandemonium over Telangana and other issues like communal violence bill and problems faced by Tamil fishermen.
In the Rajya Sabha, the copies of House bulletin were torn by V Maitreyan (AIADMK) and T M Selvaganapathi (DMK) amidst protest by members.
Some members, in the Well of the House, were seen tearing the official papers and throwing these towards the Chair.
Maitreyan even tried to reach to the microphones on the table of the Chairman but was stopped by the watch and ward staff.
Ten members — Y S Chowdary and C M Ramesh (both TDP), N Balaganga, A W Rabi Bernard, K R Arjunan, T Rathinavel, R Lakshmanan (all AIADMK) and Vasanthi Stanley, A A Jinnah and T M Selvaganapathi (all DMK) — were named in Rajya Sabha Bulletin of February 7 for disrupting proceedings.
The bulletin stated: “Due to gross disorderly conduct in violation of rules and etiquette of Rajya Sabha by the following members who, from time to time, entered the ‘Well’ of the House and persistently and willfully obstructed the proceedings of the House, the Chair repeatedly adjourned the House during the course of the day.”
An angry Deputy Chairman P J Kurein said, “I know what you want. You want censoring of the proceedings of the House. It is illegal, against rules. It is unbecoming of you. What you are doing is wrong…unruly. I am sorry.”
Ministers Jairam Ramesh and Rajiv Shukla were seen requesting Maitreyan not to throw the torn pieces of papers.
Similar scenes were witnessed when the House met at 2 PM and Kurien adjourned the House for the day. The House earlier saw four adjournments. . Lok Sabha saw one adjournment before it was adjourned for the day soon after noon.
In the Lok Sabha, several members, including supporters and opponents of division of Andhra Pradesh to carve out Telangana state, trooped into the Well raising slogans.
They were joined in the Well by members of Samajwadi Party who were raising slogans against the communal violence bill.
SAD members were on their feet with placards demanding that Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi name those behind the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Amid pandemonium, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House for an hour minutes after it met for the day.
Similar scenes were witnessed when it reassembled at noon.
The Speaker’s repeated appeals to the members to return to their seats evoked no response forcing her not to take up notices for no-confidence motion moved by several members, including V Aruna Kumar of ruling Congress.
Among the other members who had given the notices were K Narayana Rao of TDP and Raja Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress.
As the din continued, Kumar adjourned the House for the day after the laying of papers.–PTI
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