A day after the presentation of Union Budget in Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, which was convened at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, saw multiple adjournments after Opposition parties demanded that the House take up a discussion on farmers' protest. Though Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said that time will be alloted for the same on Wednesday, the Opposition members refused to budge.
They raised slogans inside the Upper House, resulting in the House being adjourned four times without conducting any business.
A similar trend was observed in Lok Sabha which was adjourned thrice due to the incessant protests of the Opposition members. The House saw brief discussions on Motion of thanks on the President's address and Papers being laid on the table.
Here are the latest updates:
Lok Sabha resumes with discussion on Motion of thanks on the President's address.
Locket Chatterjee, BJP MP from Hooghly, thanks the Speaker for the opportunity to speak after the President's address. She says that she is honoured to be a part of the tradition, especially on this year during the birth anniversary of Shubhash Chandra Bose.
She alludes to the democratic and constitutional values of the country and quotes Rabindranath Tagore. She says the diversity of the country must be celebrated, and talks about the important interventions made to erase the 'disease from China'.
Perturbed by the constant sloganeering, the Speaker, Om Birla, again requests the Opposition to return to their seats and assures them that the discussion on farm laws will take place.
Another MP from the cabinet interjects, calling for preservation of traditions during the discussion on the President's address. He says that such interruption has never taken place in the history of Indian Parliament. He asks the Opposition to go to the street and participate in the protest, adding that disrupting others while they talk is not 'correct and fair.'
The Speaker, after assessing the situation, adjourns the House for the third and final time till 4 p.m. on 3rd February.
Papers being laid on the table.
Among the chaos of sloganeering by senior members of the Opposition including Kalyan Banerjee and Saugata Roy, Mr. Birla assures the Parliamentarians repeatedly that they will be given the chance to discuss the farmers concerns.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said we are ready to discuss both inside the House as well as outside. A lot of questions were supposed to come during Question Hour.
The Speaker reiterates that the Parliament functions as a forum of discussion and debate and not sloganeering, but the slogans of the Opposition continue to drown other voices.
House adjourned till 7 p.m.
Lok Sabha resumes as Om Birla takes the seat as the Speaker.
Opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury speaks about the farmers' protest. He asks the Chairman to discuss the Farm laws on priority. "170 farmers have died during the agitation. The kind of atrocities the farmers are facing, it seems we have returned to the British regime," the Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha says.
As the discussion begins, the Opposition party continues sloganeering.
Lok Sabha assembles. Speaker Om Birla is in the Chair. He takes up Question Hour.
Opposition members raise slogans protesting against the farm laws.
Speaker asks members to be seated, says farmer welfare related questions are also listed today. Sloganeering continues. House adjourned till 5 pm.
House adjourned for the fourth and the final time for the day as Opposition continues to protest, demanding a discussion on the farm laws.
Rajya Sabha adjourned for the third time today as Opposition continues slogoneering, demanding for a discussion on farm laws.
House adjourned till 12.30 p.m.
The Upper House reconvenes with Deputy Chairman Harivansh in chair, but the Opposition members continue protests.
House adjourned till 11.30 a.m.
Opp parties walk out demanding discussion on farm agitation
Opposition parties including the Congress, Left, TMC and DMK on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha after their demand for suspension of business of the day to take up a discussion on more than two-month-old farmers' agitation was rejected by the Chairman.
The opposition parties had given notice under rule 267 calling for the suspension of business of the day to take up discussion on the ongoing agitation by farmers on Delhi borders against three new farm laws.
When the House met for the day, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said he has received notice under rule 267 from various members but the issue can be raised during the discussion on motion of thanks to the President's address to the joint sitting of both House of Parliament.
While the Lok Sabha is scheduled to start a discussion on the motion on Tuesday, the Rajya Sabha will do so on Wednesday.
As Mr. Naidu did not agree to their motion, members of Congress, Left, TMC, DMK and RJD staged a walkout. - PTI
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prasad Joshi tells the House that if members do not want Question Hour, they should place that opinion on record.
"They demanded Question Hour, so the govt. ensured that Question Hour is restored. Let them place it on record that they don't want Question Hour. They didn't participate in Zero Hour too. This is highly unfair," he says.
Chairman Naidu adjourns House till 10.30 a.m. as sloganeering continues.
Question Hour commences, as Opposition members raise slogans in the well of the House.
"Let it be noted by one and all that no slogans will go on record," says Mr. Naidu.
Some members of the Opposition had walked out, but came back for Question Hour. A few of the Opposition members have stormed the well as well.
"Please recall that last time [monsoon session] because of the pandemic we didn't have Question Hour and Zero Hour. Now we have it," says Mr. Naidu, adding that Question Hour should not become a casualty.
Opposition members raise concerns with Chairman Naidu's decision.
"This House could not discuss the farmers' issue when it came in the House in Monsoon Session. Now we are not aware of what are the discussions taking place between the govt and farmers," says Sukendu Shekhar Roy of TMC.
"Please ask the goverment to resume electricity and water supply at Tikri and Singhu border," says CPI(M) MP Elamaram Kareem.
"Hundreds of farmers are sitting in bitter cold. We need to discuss their issue," says DMK's Tiruchi Siva.
"Parliament is a house of representatives, it can not ignore the plight of those sitting on the road," says RJD's Manoj K. Jha.
"Those who feed us are sitting on the road. We can not ignore them," says CPI's Binoy Viswam.
Chairman Naidu responds: "I want to place it on record and clarify that farm laws were discussed in the House. Four hours was allocated to it, and there was a discussion for four hours. Wrong impression is being created that there was no discussion. The farm laws were discussed threadbare."
Opposition moves adjournment motion demanding debate on farm laws
Several Opposition parties, including the Congress, the DMK, the TMC and CPI (M), moves adjournment notices in the Rajya Sabha to suspend the business of the day to debate the three farm laws.
Chairman Naidu says that the issue is important, but the convention has been that such discussions are initiated by Lok Sabha and carried over to Rajya Sabha. He says that time will be set aside for these discussions on Wednesday, amidst protests from members.
"I understand the concern of the members. As the Chairman of the House, I can not speak on the positions taken by the farmers. Neither this side nor that is opposed to a discussion on farmers. It has to be held at the earliest. The discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's speech is scheduled for tomorrow (February 3). Members can avail this opportunity and express their view points. I am not able to accept the notice given to suspend business to discuss the farm laws," says Mr. Naidu.
The following ministers lay papers on the table:
- Yesso Naik For Ministry Of Ayush
- Raj Kumar Singh For Ministry Of Power
- Ashwini Kumar Choubey For Ministry Of Health And Family Welfare
- Anurag Singh Thakur For Ministry Of Finance
The Chairman, Rajya Sabha, reminded members to respect the seating arrangements made keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic. He referred to members sitting in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha chamber, including the visitors gallery, without permission.
"Staggered seating arrangement has been made after detailed discussions with Lok Sabha Speaker and the floor leaders, so please sit in your designated seats," he said.
RS Chairman Venkaiah Naidu begins speech by calling for a "dignified debate" on issues.
"Last time unfortunate incidents happened I don't want to recall them... members should participate in debate in a dignified manner," said Mr. Naidu.
The Chairman also congratulated the Indian cricket team for their victory against Australia in the Test Series. "It was a great team effort. I place my record our deep appreciation for the youngsters and the team management," he said.
Lok Sabha
- Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address
Rajya Sabha
Bills for Consideration and Passing
- Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020
- National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2019
- Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020
- National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020
