Invoking the rules of procedure, Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu asked 12 All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) members to leave for the day, as despite repeated requests and warning they continued to remain in the well of the House protesting the proposed Mekadatu dam on the Cauvery.
The move came after an emergency meeting between the two Tamil Nadu political parties and Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari failed to break the ice.
Mr. Gadkari was summoned by Mr. Naidu to listen to the concerns of the AIADMK and DMK. The Union Minister, according to sources, said the dam would not be constructed without the consent of the Tamil Nadu government. He, however, refused to recall the order of the Central Water Commission (CWC) giving in-principle nod to Karnataka to carry out a detailed project report, the first step towards construction of the dam. He claimed that the commission was just following procedure.
“We are not satisfied with the response of the Minister. The CWC has no jurisdiction to pass this order. As per the Supreme Court judgment only the Cauvery Management Authority has the right to take any decisions. Unless the government withdraws the CWC order, we will continue with our protests,” AIADMK floor leader in the Rajya Sabha A. Navaneethakrishnan told The Hindu .
The Tamil Nadu government has already filed a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court against the order.
DMK MP Tiruchi Siva too said the only way to arrive at a truce was to withdraw the CWC order.
Those who were told to leave were Navaneethakrishnan, Muthukaruppan, N. Gokulakrishnan, A.K. Selvaraj, R. Lakshmanan, Vijila Sathyananth, S.R. Balasubramoniyan, A. Vijayakumar, R.S. Bharathi, Tiruchi Siva, Kanimozhi and T.K.S. Elangovan.
According to sources, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien met Mr. Naidu urging him not to insist on further action against the named MPs. The three leaders, according to sources, said they would talk to those MPs and try to convince them not to disrupt the House any further.
The two parties have been protesting in the upper house since the start of the winter session on December 11, the AIADMK with placards in the well of the House and the DMK members mutely standing at their seats. On Wednesday, though, the DMK MPs too joined AIADMK members in the well.
Tamil bonhomie was visible, with DMK’s Tiruchi Siva leading the sloganeering with the call “ Vendum [We want], vendum ” and AIADMK members chiming in response “ Needhi [Justice] vendum .”
Despite the Chair’s ruling, the members continued to shout slogans, resulting in two breaks before the House was adjourned till Thursday. In all, the Rajya Sabha saw four adjournments on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu had appealed all the members to cooperate in running the House since there are a number of pending bills. “The image of Parliament is taking a beating. That is why people are laughing at us. I am not able to digest it as the Chairman of this House,” he said.
Mr. Naidu held two rounds of meeting with all the Opposition parties pleading that only four sittings of the House had been held and no legislative business carried out.
