Question Hour was again a casualty in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday as Opposition members created an uproar over the UPSC issue trooping into the well and forcing adjournament of the House for half-an-hour.
The Lok Sabha too witnessed an adjournment, till 12.30 p.m. over the UPSC row and other issues
As soon as the Rajya Sabha assembled for the day and Chairman Hamid Ansari tried to take up Question Hour, members from the Congress, the SP, the BSP, the CPI(M), the CPI, the DMK and the AIADMK were on their feet raising the UPSC exam issue.
Noisy scenes continued in the House even after Opposition members spoke on the issue demanding scrapping of the CSAT pattern of examination and seeking question papers of Preliminary Examination in all languges.
After his fervent appeals to allow Question Hour to take place did not have an impact, Mr. Ansari, apparently agitated, told the members that he will call a meeting of the Rajya Sabha Committee to decide whether the Question Hour is desired or not.
“If you do not want to have a Question Hour, I will have a committee meeting and you decide whether you want to have a Question Hour or not... Government has explained its position (on the issue).
“If you want a discussion, give a notice...You cannot raise extraneous matters in Question Hour,” Mr. Ansari remarked.
The AIADMK members trooped into the well seeking a response from the government and demanding that question papers of the UPSC exams should be in Tamil language.
Though the Congress has demanded scrapping of the CSAT pattern of exams alleging that it favours students from English background at the expense of those from Indian languages, party members B.K. Hariprasad and J.D. Seelam from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh respectively struck a discordant note.
Noting that he hails from a region whose languages is not one among 22 Indian languages in the eighth schedule and wondering what will happen to them, Mr. Hariprasad demanded that “status quo should be maintained“.
Mr. Seelam felt “taking away English will be a disadvantage for all non-Hindi States“.
As Mr. Seelam was in the aisles speaking loudly, a visibly upset Ansari said “You are no body here...you cannot talk from there”. The remarks angered some members.
As the din continued, Mr. Ansari adjourned the House till noon.
