Lok Sabha proceedings adjourned till 4 pm amid Opposition uproar
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the third time on Thursday as the Opposition continued with their protests over alleged snooping through Pegasus spyware and other issues.
As the House met at 2 PM, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
However, Opposition leaders opposed the introduction with Congress' Manish Tewari saying that there is a time-honoured convention of the House that till the time the House is not in order no legislation can be discussed.
"What is happening is completely unconstitutional, it is a murder of democracy," he said.
As the uproar by the Opposition over issues such as the Pegasus snooping row and the farmers' bills continued, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who was chairing the proceedings, adjourned the House till 4 PM.
Earlier, when the House met for the day, Speaker Om Birla congratulated the Indian hockey team for an Olympic medal after 41 years as well as women athletes who won medals at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
When the Question Hour commenced, Opposition parties started protesting against various issues, including the Pegasus spyware controversy and farm laws. Many members trooped into the Well of the House, shouting slogans and displaying placards.
Despite the din, at least ten questions and supplementaries were taken up during the Question Hour.
While urging the protesting members to go back to their seats, Mr Birla said important issues are being discussed in the Question Hour and that they were not asking questions but only indulging in sloganeering.
"This is not appropriate for Parliament traditions," the Speaker said and stressed that people want the House to run in accordance with traditions and rules.
Crores of rupees are being spent and people are asking why the House is not running, Birla said before adjourning the proceedings till noon as the Opposition uproar over various issues continued.
Earlier, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sought to raise the issue of the death of a girl following an alleged sexual assault in the national capital but was not allowed.
As soon as the House resumed at noon, Mr Chowdhury again tried to raise the issue of the death of the girl in Delhi.
He said he wanted the House to adopt a resolution condemning the incident.
The Congress leader of Lok Sabha was immediately countered by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Meghwal who asked why the opposition party was silent on similar issues which had taken place in Rajasthan, a state ruled by the Congress.
Mr Meghwal objected to Mr Chowdhury raising the issue and said that it was condemnable that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has failed to raise the Rajasthan issues.
Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, ignored Mr Chowdhury's appeal and allowed the papers related to various ministries to be laid in the House amidst the continued protests and sloganeering by opposition members.
After about 10 minutes of business, Mr Agrawal asked the protesting opposition MPs to go to their seats so that the House can function normally.
As the opposition did not heed to the chair's appeal, Mr Agrawal adjourned the House till 2 pm.
PTI
