Rajya Sabha adjourned as opposition continues protest

NEW DELHI: Uproarious scenes by opposition and NDA partner TDP seeking a probe into India's largest Rs 12,700 crore banking scam and special status to Andhra Pradesh disrupted Rajya Sabha proceedings for the ninth consecutive day today.

The House was adjourned for the day in the afternoon after witnessing two adjournments earlier in the day.

Minutes after the Upper House reassembled at 3 PM, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien who was in the Chair rose to his feet and urged the opposition to take up the Finance Bill and Appropriation Bills as members from TDP, AIADMK and Congress trooped into the Well raising slogans and carrying placards.

"Please listen to my request. There is Finance Bill, Appropriation Bills. If you don't consider (them), Rajya Sabha will beocme irrelevant. I will dispose (these) in five minutes," Kurien urged the members.

To this, Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said "No Bill can just be finished in five minutes".

However, as the slogan-shouting continued, Kurien adjourned the House for the day, saying "I will have to adjourn the House and the responsibility of not discussing or taking up Finance Bill is on the shouting members".

Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved a statutory resolution to approve a notification of March 1 which seeks to increase the basic custom duty on chickpeas, falling under a tariff item of the Customs Tariff Act from 40 to 60 per cent.

When the House had met at 3 PM, former minister TDP MP YS Chowdhary, who was earlier allowed by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to make a statement under Rule 241 on the reasons for quitting the Union Cabinet, said he wanted to complete his statement.

However, Kurien did not permit him, saying "I am not denying your right. The point is, the statement was allowed in the morning and it could not be completed on what ground (that) I am not aware.You can request the honourable Chairman tomorrow."

Soon after it met for the day, the Upper House was adjourned till 2 PM amidst protests by Congress members over Chowdary's remarks against the erstwhile UPA regime over the division of Andhra Pradesh.

When it reassembled at 2 PM, Deputy Chairman Kurien adjourned the House within five minutes after the opposition members trooped into the Well raising slogans.

Kurien tried to pacify the agitating members saying the government was ready for discussion on the issues they were raising and they should return to their seats.

He tried to take up a short duration discussion on the scams in public sector banks, saying the notice for the short duration discussion "has been admitted and the government is ready for discussions on it."

However, as the members continued their protests, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the house till 3 PM.

Earlier, the Congress members had trooped into the Well raising slogans after Chowdhary said the division of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 was carried out in a "hasty, unjust and unscientific" manner.

Chairman Naidu said the former minister had been allowed permission under Rule 241 to make a statement on the reasons for quitting the Union Cabinet.

Two ministers of the TDP -- Chowdary and Ashok Gajapathi Raju -- had quit their posts after the party pulled out of the government over the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh.

Chowdary began by thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party leader N Chandrababu Naidu for giving him an opportunity to be part of the Cabinet and then went on to say that he was making the statement to set the perspective right and "separate truth from propaganda".

He said the division of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 was done in a "hasty, unjust and unscientific manner" by the government of the time.

The comment drew a sharp reaction from the Congress MPs who shouted in protest and started moving into the Well.

Naidu asked Chowdary not to deviate from the approved text of the statement and anything he said beyond it would not go on record.

But this did not satisfy the Congress members who moved into the Well with some holding placard supporting a special package for Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu said the House was not a place to play politics and adjourned it till 2 PM.

Earlier the House mourned the death of its former member Hamida Habibullah.

A qualified nurse who served in the military hospital in Lucknow till World War-II and had started the famed NGO SEWA, Habibullah died on March 13 at the age of 101 years.