Naidu warned that if a member whose Zero Hour notice has been accepted and does not raise it despite being present in the House, he or she will not be given another chance during the remaining period of the current session.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Thursday amid protests and unrelenting sloganeering by Opposition members over the Delhi riots, which have left 53 people dead so far.
With the protests continuing, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said, “This is Parliament, not a bazaar.”
Before adjournment of the House, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan made a statement on the coronavirus situation in the country and members, including those from the Opposition, made constructive suggestions. But as soon as Naidu asked MPs to start with their Zero Hour mentions, Congress members were up on their feet and were joined by other Opposition MPs.
Later, Opposition MPs, including from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, and the AAP, entered the Well of the House and started raising slogans against the government and Home Minister Amit Shah over the violence.
Naidu warned that if a member whose Zero Hour notice has been accepted and does not raise it despite being present in the House, he or she will not be given another chance during the remaining period of the current session. Around noon, Naidu asked protesting members to return to their seats so that the Question Hour could be taken up. But with opposition parties not yielding, he adjourned proceedings for the day.
Earlier, when the House met for the day, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Congress and other opposition parities had previously decided that business in the House will be allowed only after a discussion on the Delhi riots takes place. But in view of the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak, opposition parties do not want to deprive people of information about the government’s steps to deal with the situation and have thus decided to allow the Health Minister to make a statement on the issue, he said.