Entire opposition came out in support of those named in house bulletin for protesting against Antony
press trust of india
New delhi, 8 August
The naming of 20 BJP members, who had trooped into the Well protesting defence minister A K Antony’s statement on the LoC killings, led to strong protests in the Rajya Sabha with party MPs staging a walk out and staying away from the proceedings during Zero hour.
The entire Opposition came out in support of 22 members (20 from BJP and 2 from TDP), who were named by the Chair for ‘gross disorderly conduct’ in the House, and forced three adjournments in the pre-noon sitting.
Though the government managed to introduce two Bills during Zero Hour amid the din, members from other Opposition parties ~ the AIADMK, the CPI-M, the SP, the BSP, the JD-U and the AGP ~ did not allow further business saying it was not good that the House runs without the presence of the main Opposition party.
Mr Naresh Agrawal (SP) suggested that Deputy Chairman P J Kurien should apologise, while Mr V Maitreyan (AIADMK) demanded a ruling from the Chair on the issue.
Earlier, Mr M Venkaiah Naidu (BJP) raised the issue saying such naming of members had never happened even when members from the ruling parties tore the women’s reservation Bill.
“Why this discrimination? What is the rule? Naming of members of one party and showing discrimination (against others) is not acceptable. We denounce it,” he said, adding the Bulletin had not named members of the ruling party who too had disrupted the proceedings over creation of Telangana.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said never had expression of protests by several sections of the House figured in the Rajya Sabha Bulletin.
He said the Bulletin did not name the ruling party member who menacingly marched towards a member of supporting party and another member who was in the Well over the Telangana issue.
Mr Ansari said the issue can be discussed in his Chamber, but this did not satisfy Mr Jaitley, who along with other members of his party staged a walkout. TDP members also opposed forcing the Chair to adjourn the House till noon.
When the House resumed at noon, BJP members did not turn up, which was repeatedly pointed out by members from other Opposition parties, who asked the Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to resolve the issue.
Mr Birendra Prasad Baishya (AGP) repeatedly pointed out towards the empty Opposition benches seeking to draw Chair’s attention to the BJP staying away from proceedings.
As Mr Kurien carried on with business as usual, Mr Baishya rushed into the Well in protest but withdrew shortly. Meanwhile, two TDP members C M Ramesh and Y S Chowdhary, who were named in the bulletin, stood in the Well with a black cloth on their mouth protesting the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
As the din continued, Mr Kurien adjourned the House till 2 p.m.