The Lok Sabha on July 3 witnessed uproar as Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House after DMK leader T.R. Baalu raised objections over a tweet by Puducherry Lieutenant-Governor Kiran Bedi on water crisis in Chennai.
It was the first time in the 17th Lok Sabha that Opposition MPs went to the Well after Speaker Om Birla told Mr. Baalu that he could not speak about a person holding a constitutional office without bringing a motion.
Mr. Baalu cited Ms. Bedi’s tweet, and said she had belittled Tamil Nadu and sought the Union government’s reply.
Congress members as well as Aam Aadmi Party’s Bhagwant Mann joined the protests and went to the Well after Mr. Baalu was not satisfied with the Speaker’s response.
Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of the House Rajnath Singh intervened, and said the Opposition must bring a motion if they wanted a discussion on this issue as Ms. Bedi holds a constitutional post.
The Zero Hour witnessed exchange of words between Trinamool Congress and BJP members after Sudeep Bandopadhaya (Trinamool) referred to BJP MP Locket Chatterjee’s allegations of ‘cut money’ being taken by Trinamool leaders including the Chief Minister.
‘Cut money’
“Cut money is a kind of a bribe and yesterday the member talked about the Chief Minister. It is not right and should not be part of the records. If the Bengal Assembly makes such a charge against the Prime Minister, it will not be acceptable,” Mr. Bandopadhaya said.
Though the Speaker said he would look into the records and remove any objectionable portion, BJP MPs countered the Trinamool members with slogans.
“Don’t turn this into Bengal Assembly,” said the Speaker even as he asked the members to observe discipline.
Separately, BJP member from West Bengal Arjun Singh raised the issue of cow smuggling to Bangladesh, and alleged that the ruling Trinamool patronised the smugglers.
“Cow smuggling is rampant in West Bengal and this is happening with the support of the State government. The smuggling takes place through the Bangladesh border in return for fake currency and drugs,” he said.
