Members of Opposition parties stage a protest at Parliament, in New Delhi, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)Parliament Monsoon Session Live Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday lauded Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh for bringing tea for the eight suspended MPs. “To personally serve tea to those who attacked and insulted him a few days ago as well as those sitting on Dharna shows that Shri Harivansh Ji has been blessed with a humble mind and a big heart,” Modi tweeted, adding that Harivansh’s gesture will make “every democracy lover proud.”
Eight opposition MPs staged an overnight protest next to the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises over their suspension due to “unruly behaviour”. The RS deputy chairman, the leaders said, came in bright and early with a posse of news cameras and was told by a senior MP to visit them without the cameras and sit with them. “Another senior MP also told him that while bringing tea was a nice gesture, he was still in the wrong in what he did. He was told that he was the one who broke the rules,” a protesting MP told PTI.
The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Rashtriya Raksha University Bill, 2020, The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 are among the bills listed for business in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan will also make statements.
In Lok Sabha, meanwhile, The Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions Code, 2020, The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, The Code On Social Security, 2020 and The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 are among the bills that will be discussed.
TMC MP Derek O'Brien attempts to tear the rule book as ruckus erupts in the Rajya Sabha over agriculture related bills, during the ongoing Monsoon Session, at Parliament House in New Delhi, Sunday. (Photo: Screengrab @ RSTV via PTI)
Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad asked for a separate Bill to ensure that private players don't buy below MSP and that MSP is decided by the Swaminathan formula. "Till our demands which include revocation of suspension of the 8 MPs and Govt to bring another bill under which no private player can purchase below MSP are not met, the Opposition will boycott the session," he said.
Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said he is "saddened" by what happened in the House. "When tempers run high, people lose control. I would request the Chair to revoke the suspension of the MPs," he said, apologising on behalf of the eight MPs.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad addresses the House. "No one is happy with the incidents that have taken place in this House...The public wants that their leaders should be heard. No one can put across their views in just 2-3 mins. There will be 90% de-escalation if MPs not constrained by time to speakWhat happened the day before yesterday in the House is the last straw on the camel's back. Attempts are being made to pass every bill. MPs are not being given time to talk. Time constraint has become the biggest conflict in the House."
The suspended parliamentarians spent the night in the lawns near Mahatma Gandhi's statue. AAP's Sanjay Singh posted a picture on Twitter from the protest site in the morning and said that the "whole night was spent under the open sky in front of Bapu's statue". The RS deputy chairman, the leaders said, came in bright and early with a posse of news cameras and was told by a senior MP to visit them without the cameras and sit with them. "Another senior MP also told him that while bringing tea was a nice gesture, he was still in the wrong in what he did. He was told that he was the one who broke the rules," a protesting MP told PTI. The protesting MPs did not accept the tea and snacks offered by the deputy chairman.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh. "To personally serve tea to those who attacked and insulted him a few days ago as well as those sitting on Dharna shows that Shri Harivansh Ji has been blessed with a humble mind and a big heart. It shows his greatness. I join the people of India in congratulating Harivansh Ji," he tweeted.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh will observe a one-day fast against the unruly behaviour by the suspended MPs in the House. "In the name of democracy, few MPs resorted to violence and tried to threaten the chair of the House. They tore books and threw them on me. They broke all protocols of Parliament," Harisvansh said in a letter addressed to Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu. "Hope this fast helps in self-purification of the opposition MPs," the letter furher read
"Harivansh Ji said he came to meet us as a colleague & not as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He also brought some tea & snacks for us. We started this sit-in demonstration yesterday as a protest against our suspension. We've been here all night. No one from the government has come to enquire about us. Many Opposition leaders came to enquire about us and to show solidarity with us. We are going to continue this demonstration," Congress MP Ripun Bora told news agency ANI. Bora is one among the eight suspended MPs.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh brings tea for the Rajya Sabha MPs who are protesting at Parliament premises against their suspension from the House. The suspended MPs include Congress’s Rajeev Satav, Syed Naseer Hussain and Ripun Bora; Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen; AAP’s Sanjay Singh; and CPI(M)’s K K Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem.