Both Houses of Parliament continued to witness Opposition protests on a variety of issues, resulting in frequent adjournments on Thursday.
Amid din, the Lok Sabha, passed supplementary demands for grants (general) and supplementary demands for grants for the Railways for 2013-14. However, Speaker Meira Kumar, who tried to get the decision of the House on admissibility of fresh notices for a no-confidence motion given by Congress, Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress members from Seemandhra, could not place them as the House was not in order.
“… I have also received notices of Motion of No-Confidence in the Council of Ministers, which I am duty-bound to bring before the House,” she said: But “unless the House is in order, I will not be in a position to count 50 members who have to stand in their assigned places so that I ascertain whether leave has been granted. Therefore, for the sake of no-confidence motion, please go back to your seats.”
But as the protesting members did not relent, Ms. Kumar gave up saying, “since the House is not in order, I will not be able to bring this motion.”
The Lok Sabha, which witnessed one adjournment during question hour, wound up its proceedings in the morning itself after the House passed the supplementary demands and was not able to take up other subjects.
In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Hamid Ansari announced that he had received seven notices for suspension of question hour. But there was chaos with members of the BSP, the SP, the TDP, the DMK and the AIADMK protesting on various issues.
Trinamool Congress members carried paper banners asking the Delhi Police to arrest the former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.K. Ganguly, for his alleged involvement in a sexual harassment case.
The House, which witnessed two adjournments in the morning, finally adjourned for the day post- lunch due to the continuing protests.
In the Lok Sabha, JD(U) members, who rushed to the well, were seen carrying placards seeking an “apology” from Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde for writing an “insulting” letter to the Bihar government on the Maoist issue.
