The Lok Sabha on Thursday deferred the consideration and passing of The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 for Friday, as the Opposition benches were empty due to the ongoing protests by the Congress members outside of Parliament over the Enforcement Directorate’s summoning of their party president Sonia Gandhi for questioning.
As soon as the Lok Sabha reconvened after a lunch break around 2.15 p.m., Minister for Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh requested the presiding officer, Biju Janata Dal’s Bhratruhari Mahtab, to defer the debate and passage of the Bill for the next day. “This is an important Bill with many facets, and I would like the debate to include the Opposition, who are not there today,” he said.
Mr. Mahtab then requested Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal to ascertain a sense of the House on the matter, and with the support of P.P. Choudhary and Nishikant Dubey of the BJP, it was agreed that the Bill would be taken up for consideration and passing on Friday. The Lok Sabha was then adjourned for the day.
