The opposition demand for a discussion on the resignation of Union minister Ajay Mishra whose son is arrested in the Lakhimpur Kheri case was turned down by the government. The BJP blamed the Opposition for the political stalemate in the Rajya Sabha.
As soon as the official papers were laid on the table in Rajya Sabha, MPs from opposition parties including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, pressed for the revocation of suspension of the 12 MPs. Carrying placards, some opposition MPs started to move towards the Well of the House.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge pressed for the notice given under Rule 267 that seeks to set aside the business of the day to take up the issue being raised. But the chairman disallowed it.
Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu then adjourned the house till 2 pm, saying, "I want debate, discussion, decency". "I have received notices under Rule 267. First, the House should be allowed to function. That is why I'm not admitting it," Mr Naidu said. Later House was again adjourned till 3 pm.
In the Lok Sabha too, the Trinamool MPs held a protest, demanding the resignation of Ajay Mishra, the junior Home Minister.
"It is undemocratic to run the House while keeping 12 MPs out... We will not let the House to run," Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev told NDTV. The government, she said, is "running away from answering questions on the Lakhimpur Kheri case".
Congress's Rahul Gandhi said the opposition parties were not being allowed to raise issues. "Minister Teni must be sacked. The onus is on the government to run the house," he said.
Mr Naidu said on Friday he had requested the government and opposition to sit and thrash out the issues so the House "can function normally". But that effort has failed, with the opposition demand that all parties be invited for talks and not just four.
The government had only invited the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and the CPM, whose MPs were suspended, for talks at 10 am today.
As the Congress and Trinamool rebuffed the government for being selective about the meeting, Congress's former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh tweeted that the government "doesnt want Parliament to run since it wants to run away from demand for resignation of Ajay Mishra Teni MOS (Home) after Yogi's SIT report that indicted his son for killing farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri".
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