The Rajya Sabha on Friday saw noisy protests by Samjawadi Party(SP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the issues of recent communal clashes in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and the sealing drive in Delhi forcing an adjournment in the pre-lunch session after rushing into the well of the house.
Congress member K V P Ramachandra Rao also came into the Well holding a placard ‘Help Andhra Pradesh’ drawing the ire of Deputy Chairman P J Kurien when the Congress MP refused to go back to his seat despite repeated warnings by the Chair. Rao repeated the act during the entire Question Hour by standing in the well prompting Kurien to remark “he is acting as my bodyguard.” Some Congress members also kept standing near their seats to show solidarity with Rao.
AAP members also raised a din later during the Question Hour and stormed into the well raising slogans. Leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad also said it is the moral duty of all MPs to draw the attention of the Government to the plight of common traders in Delhi as the National Capital is the second home of MPs of both houses. Seeking a response from the central Government over the issue, he charged that lakhs of local traders were being harassed due to the sealing drive.
Raising the issue of violence in Kasganj soon after the House met for the day, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav claimed that the State Government was targeting people of minority community. When Kurien said Yadav should give a notice, several SP members raised a din and rushed into the well. While they raised slogans on the Kasganj issue, AAP members also came into the well to register their protest against sealing drive. Kurien then adjourned the house till Question Hour after the agitated members refused to relent.
When the House met for Question Hour after the first adjournment, the AAP members led by Sanjay Singh again trooped into the well raising slogans, alleging that it was being done at the behest of the central Government. Congress members joined them from their seats. There were heated exchanges between AAP MPs and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel, even as Kurien kept asking Singh to go back to his seat.
Azad said “if lakhs of people are being uprooted, the central government in Delhi is responsible for it. They should answer here. They cannot merely watch silently what is happening. The Government should answer how they are throwing out poor shopkeepers from the roads. Business in the entire country has been shut because of the Government’s wrong policies and now people who earn their living on the roadside are also being thrown out by the Government,” Azad said. The Question Hour later worked smoothly.