NEW DELHI: Anguished over disruptions in the working of the
Rajya Sabha, Chairman M
Venkaiah Naidu on Monday cancelled a dinner he was to host for members of the Upper House on Wednesday.
6 minutes. And that was it at Rajya Sabha on March 19
As Parliament remains dysfunctional, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day in under six minutes and the Lok Sabha could only function for a few minutes longer on Monday as the government-opposition standoff entered its third consecutive week.
According to sources, preparations for the dinner were completed last week. Naidu had even spoken to the President, the Prime Minister, the leader of the house, the leader of opposition and floor leaders of various parties whom he had invited. Invitation cards were kept ready. Naidu had expected the House proceedings would normalise by today.
At a meeting with the floor leaders of various parties in his chamber today, the
RS Chairman conveyed anguish over the ongoing stalemate in the House and informed them of his decision to cancel the dinner.
Naidu was of the view that it would not be appropriate to go ahead with the dinner with the House not functioning for over two weeks, the sources said.
He had planned an Andhra Pradesh special dinner, with specialist cooks called from the state.
It is learnt that he also refused to inaugurate a badminton tournament for members of Parliament at the Constitution Club last week.
