Rahul Gandhi with other Opposition leaders at a protest over the Delhi violence at Parliament House. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
As the Budget Session resumed after the recess, Rajya Sabha proceedings were truncated amid Opposition protests over the Delhi riots and Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu’s refusal to allow any discussion on the matter till normalcy is restored.
Naidu walked into the House to cries of “Dilli jal raha hai (Delhi is burning)” and “Gujarat jala, ab Delhi (Gujarat burnt, now it’s Delhi)”. He ignored the agitation among Opposition MPs to give a detailed account of the performance of legislators in various Parliamentary committees.
“I have received notices from a couple of Members from all sides. They are interested in discussing the present situation in Delhi and also in other parts of the country. I am of the opinion that the matter that has been brought to my notice is, definitely, an important one and it deserves to be discussed. But, at the same time, I am of the view, keeping in view what has happened, that our priority should be to see that normalcy is restored and then we discuss the ways and means of preventing it and also taking measures…” he said.
Opposition MPs were on their feet with some like Imran Hassan and Shanta Chhetri of the Trinamool Congress tying black bands on their eyes. An irritated Naidu said, “No badges allowed. Please remove that.” Trinamool MPs had earlier used the blindfolds during their silent protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue outside Parliament.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “If the Centre had any intention (of restoring normalcy), it would not have slept for three days and three nights.” DMK’s Tiruchi Siva asserted that Parliament is meant for discussion. But Naidu stuck to his guns with Leader of the House and Social Justice Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot standing up to support his stand.
Before adjourning the House, Naidu reiterated, “Let total peace be restored… Let us wait and see that the system works effectively and then normalcy is brought in, particularly in Delhi, in view of what has happened.”
Naidu earlier gave an account of the various standing committees which are required to scrutinise the Demands for Grants for 2020-21 of various departments during the recess.