Rajya Sabha Adjourned Thrice In Pre-Lunch Session Amid Opposition Protest

Rajya Sabha proceedings were on Wednesday adjourned thrice during the pre-lunch period amid opposition uproar over suspension of MPs and other issues, even as AAP member Sanjay Singh was suspended for the remainder of the week.

The Upper House was first adjourned soon after it met at 11 am and then twice during the Question hour - first for 15 minutes and then till 2 pm.

As soon as the House met after the first adjournment at 12 noon, Deputy Chairman Harivansh invoked Rule 256 and named AAP member Sanjay Singh.

Thereafter, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion to suspend Singh from the House for the remainder of the week.

The motion was adopted by voice vote, even as opposition members continued to raise uproar in the Well of the House.

The deputy chairman asked Singh to leave the House soon after the motion was adopted.

Amid continued sloganeering by the opposition members, the deputy chairman adjourned the House briefly for 15 minutes.

When the House met again, suspended member Sanjay Singh was in the Well, raising slogans along with another AAP member. He was asked to leave.

Congress and other opposition members also trooped into the Well against the suspension of the MPs, even as Harivansh appealed to the suspended member to move out.

He then adjourned the house till 2 pm amid continued uproar by opposition members.

Twenty MPs have been suspended from the Upper House for unruly behaviour.

The House has so far failed to transact any business as opposition parties are seeking to raise the issue of price rise and also the hooch tragedy in Gujarat.

Earlier when the house met at 11 am, the Congress and other opposition parties wanted to raise the issue of rise in prices of essential items. AAP's Sanjay Singh had rushed to the Well of the House holding placards over the hooch tragedy in Gujarat.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said he has not allowed notices given by several members under Rule 267 as some of them can be taken up in the normal course of business.

This was not acceptable to the opposition which started raising the issues, following which Naidu adjourned the proceedings till noon.

Rule 267 calls for suspension of the listed business to take up a discussion on the issue being raised.

Soon after listed official papers were laid on the table of the House, Naidu said inflation and price rise are the main issues in the 267 notices he has received.

Before he could complete, Singh was up on his feet trying to raise the Gujarat hooch issue and said 55 people have died after drinking spurious liquor in the state.

This infuriated Naidu, who asked Singh to sit down.

"What is this? Height of irresponsibility. I have to say (about the 267 notices)," he said.

As Singh persisted, Naidu warned him that he would be named. "And you will be sent out. You have to understand this." "Don't provoke me to that extent....I have to read the names (of those who have given notices under 267). You don't have the patience to even listen to that," he said.

Naidu said he has received notices under Rule 267 from Jawhar Sircar (TMC), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Binoy Viswam (CPI), Mallikarjun Kharge (Cong), Elamaram Kareem (CPM), Javed Ali Khan (SP), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Shaktisinh Sohil (Cong) and K C Venugopal.

"I have gone through the notices. They can be taken up in a normal course. I have already admitted some of them under other motions so I am not admitting them," he said.

But as opposition MPs began raising the issues, Naidu adjourned the proceedings till noon.