The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice on Monday with the Congress disrupting proceedings to discuss “inconsistencies” in the Government's statements on WTO negotiations even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted there was no contradiction in the Government’s stand.
Raising the issue, former Commerce Minister Anand Sharma alleged there was contradiction between what Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on the floor of the House and what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said outside Parliament.
Congress MPs sought the suspension of question hour and as the uproar continued, the House was adjourned for 10 minutes.
Similar scenes were witnessed when the House re-assembled. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the issue could be taken up after question hour.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said India's stand in Bali was appreciated across the world. Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party of India -Marxist) wondered if the issue could be raised in zero hour.
Mr. Jaitley intervened to say that “immediately after Bali, the BJP, then in the Opposition, had categorically taken a position that Bali was an imperfect agreement. That was India’s position till July 31 this year, when we were trying to amend it. We have a different perception; you may have your own perception. There is no inconsistency. We stand by the statement made by the Commerce Minister.’’
Amid the din, Ms. Sitharaman said she stood by her statement.
