Monsoon session: Rajya Sabha adjourned over Pegasus row till 2 pm

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice in the pre-lunch period on Tuesday amid continued uproar by Opposition members over the Pegasus snooping controversy.

Soon after the members met at 12 noon and Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced the Question Hour, the Opposition members stormed into the well and started raising slogans against the government.

The deputy chairman's repeated pleas to the protesting members to take their seats and allow the Question Hour to function did not yield any results.

"This is the Question Hour, kindly go to your seats," Harivansh said amid continued sloganeering by the Opposition members.

The deputy chairman said they are depriving others from asking questions and requested the protesting members to follow the rules as they are flouting Covid norms.

"Members who are in the well are snatching the rights of others," he said.

Deputy leader of the House Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "The kind of words and language being used by the Opposition members for the prime minister is highly objectionable."

He also said the protesting Opposition members are violating the coronavirus protocol as they are raising slogans in the well without wearing masks.

As the Opposition members continued their sloganeering, the deputy chairman adjourned the House till 2 pm.

The Rajya Sabha has failed to transact any business ever since the Monsoon Session started on July 19.

There has only been a discussion on Covid management so far in the House.

Earlier in the day, the House was adjourned after the laying of papers as the Opposition members continued to raise slogans and disrupted the proceedings.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urged the members to allow the House to function but the unrelenting Opposition continued with its protests over the Pegasus snooping row.