As it happened: Anurag's poser to LS: is Afzal Guru a martyr?

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) members on Wednesday forced two adjournments of the Rajya Sabha, creating an uproar over the suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula and demanding the resignation of Union Ministers alleging they were linked with the incident.

Raising the issue, party chief Mayawati said the death of Vemula was a matter of grave concern.

“Since the time the BJP came to power at the Centre, nefarious means are being used to impose RSS ideology,” she said adding that prestigious institutions like Hyderabad University, Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Milia and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were being interfered with.

She insisted that the government respond to her demands before the listed discussion is taken up.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted his party and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents to remain united and aggressive in the face of the Opposition’s attack on the government’s handling of the JNU issue, terming it an attempt to “distract” the government. >More...

Highlights

» Top sources who were present at the meeting said Mr. Modi praised the work of his own government, and said the JNU issue was being used as a “distraction” by the Opposition to attack it.
» Meenakshi Lekhi has moved a notice in the Lok Sabha to discuss the issue.
» Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Opposition has shown "positive attitude" and he wished the session would be fruitful and has constructive criticism.
Today's list of business: >Lok Sabha ; >Rajya Sabha

5.30 pm: BJP gets support from unexpected quarters. 'If students are found guilty of anti-national sloganeering then strictest possible punishment should be given", says Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

5.15 pm: "You will have to decide whether you are with those who attack our Parliament or those who protect it?”, says Thakur.

5.00 pm: Anurag Thakur accused the Congress of “standing with those who call Afzal Guru a martyr”, during the JNU controversy.

4. 10 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day due to continued uproar over Dalit student’s suicide.

4.08 pm: Anurag Thakur made derogatory allegations against our party vice-president; it must be expunged from the records pleads Jyotiraditya Scindia.

4.00 pm: Rahul Gandhi goes to a University named after his grandfather & supports anti-nationals: Anurag Thakur.

3:45 pm: Congress' slogan is Family first, Party second...Nation last, says BJP MP: Anurag Thakur in Lok Sabha.

3. 30 pm: Foreign Secretary, Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury are from JNU: Scindia

3. 25 pm: The Home Minister says that Hafiz Saeed supported JNU protest, shouldn't he have investigated before saying this?, asks Jyotiraditya Scindia

3. 10 pm: "We have been witnessing an atmosphere of intolerance in the nation", says Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia in the Lok Sabha.

3. 00 pm: "They have committed Taliban fashion of executions,” Ms Lekhi alleged, amid vociferous protests by Left members.

2.55 pm: Undaunted, Ms. Lekhi lists out killings allegedly committed by Left cadres in Kerala, accuses them of committing “atrocities on campus” and “white-washing their brutalities through repressive policies“.

2.45 pm: When we were children, we saw some witch or some demon in the fairy tales. Likewise, there are witches in every growth story,” BJP member Meenakshi Lekhi said while initiating the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address.

2.40 pm: The BJP goes hammer and tongs in the Lok Sabha against the Left parties projecting them as the "witch” in the fairy tale of India’s growth story.

2.30 pm: Lok Sabha advanced the discussion on the raging JNU row from tomorrow to today, with Speaker Sumitra Mahajan deciding so amid a push by Congress and the willingness by the government. > Read more

12:58 pm: The Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 2 p.m. as BSP protest continues over Rohith Vemula case.

12:16 pm: The Govt. said they are open to a discussion. Yes? But they will not let me speak in the Parliament: Rahul Gandhi

12:16 pm: I will speak [in Parliament] but they will not let me speak because they are scared of what I will say: Rahul Gandhi

11:44 am: Rajya Sabha adjourned for second time till noon following BSP uproar over Rohith Vemula suicide.

11:43 am: Smriti Irani in RS: Have a discussion right away sir! Who uses a child as a political tool?

11:13 am: Uproar in the Rajya Sabha as BSP supremo Mayawati raises issue of Dalit students. She says, "Dalit students are targeted."

11:12 am: Sources in the Congress say that some senior leaders have "briefed" party president Sonia Gandhi about the possibility of facing a blowback if they put the spotlight on the JNU row in Parliament. >More...

11:08 am: Meanwhile, the Delhi HC has adjourned the hearing on Kanhaiya Kumar bail plea till February 29.

10:44 am: The meeting of senior Cabinet Ministers called by PM Modi begins in Parliament. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Parrikar, EAM Sushma Swaraj are also present.

10:07 am: Congress Leader Mallikarjun Kharge gives adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha on JNU and Rohith Vemula issue.

10:06 am: Apart from Bhupendra Yadav, Anil Dave and Tarun Vijay to take part in the discussion in Rajya Sabha on JNU issue.

10:05 am: Discussion in Rajya Sabha on JNU issue: Bhupendra Yadav to initiate, Home Minister and HRD Minister Smriti Irani to intervene.

9:42 am: All Left party MPs to protest in the Parliament premises over JNU issue.

9:15 am: High-powered committee on Jat reservation headed by Venkaiah Naidu to meet all Haryana MPs today to discuss the issue.

Short duration discussion on the situation arising in central institutions of higher education, with specific reference to JNU and University of Hyderabad.

The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2015.