Parliament was disrupted repeatedly on Thursday. The Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day without conducting business. Disruptions over the last few days prompted PM Narendra Modi to say it was a matter of sorrow.
Here are the top 10 developments:
With disruptions preventing legislation including passage of the GST or Goods and Services Tax Bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said it was a "matter of sorrow" that Parliament was not running. "Democracy cannot function at the whims and fancies of anyone," he said, speaking at Jagran Forum, a conclave in New Delhi, organised by the Dainik Jagran group.
The Rajya Sabha, where the Congress enjoys a numerical advantage over the BJP, was repeatedly adjourned over the National Herald case after Congress members rushed into the well, shouting slogans. "These protests should not be linked to GST," Congress Leader, Anand Sharma, said.
"Everyone in the country can see how for self-interest Sonia Gandhi and Rahul are blocking Parliament," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said. "(They are) blocking development and hurting the poor," he said, on the disruptions.
Opposition parties also spoke out against disruptions. Samajwadi Party lawmaker Naresh Aggarwal later said his party did not support the Congress and wanted Parliament to function. "Parliament has become a battleground for issues that are not directly connected to Parliament," NCP leader Praful Patel said outside. "There should be sanity on both sides."
But, the TMC and JD-U supported the Congress. It is the government's responsibility to run Parliament, Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar said in New Delhi. "Its mandate is not to harass the Opposition," Mr Kumar, who had met PM Modi earlier in the day, said.
In the Lok Sabha, the Congress protested over what it called unparliamentary, personal remarks made against its leaders by BJP lawmaker Virendra Singh on Wednesday. Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, moved an adjournment motion to discuss Mr Singh's conduct.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expunged Mr Singh's remarks and said "there is no harm in apologising." Mr Kharge said, "My feeling is the government is supporting the member" as he demanded that Mr Singh be suspended. The Congress and the TMC staged a walkout.
The BJP distanced itself from Mr Singh's remarks but said Parliament should be allowed to function. "Should the Parliament session end without passing any bills?" M Venkaiah Naidu, Parliamentary Affairs Minister said in the Lok Sabha. "Criticism is the right of the opposition in a democracy but they should (also) listen to the (government's) reply," the minister said. Zero Hour resumed after his intervention.
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to make a statement tomorrow in Parliament on her visit to Islamabad and resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan.
With just 10 working days left for the Parliament session to end, the GST Bill runs the risk of not being passed. This is the government's last chance to get the bill passed if it wants the Goods and Services Tax to be rolled out from April 1, 2016.
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