Rajya Sabha adjourned till Monday amid Opposition protest

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till Monday amid continuous protests by opposition parties over the Pegasus snooping controversy, farm laws and price rise. After the House resumed post lunch at 2:30 pm, Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, who was in the chair, called for private member business.

The government introduced two bills -- the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021. Subsequently, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar moved a motion for consideration of the Coconut Development Board (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

The bill was passed by a voice vote amidst the protest and sloganeering by the Opposition after a short reply from the minister. The deputy chairman then adjourned the House till Monday 11 am. Earlier, the Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned twice -- first till noon and then till 2:30 pm.

When the House re-assembled at noon after the first adjournment for the Question Hour, several Opposition members trooped into the Well, some of them carrying placards, and started raising slogans against the government.

The House took up a few of the listed questions and the ministers concerned replied to the members' queries. However, as the sloganeering by the Opposition members continued, the deputy chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2:30 pm.

Earlier, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had adjourned the proceedings till 1200 hours just as the members of the Congress, TMC and other opposition parties stood up to raise the issues they have been pressing for since the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 19.

Before adjourning the House, Naidu expressed concern over parliamentary dignity and prestige being compromised by MPs by conducts such as whistling and placing placards in front of the ministers speaking during their protests in the last few days.

He appealed to the members to see that the decency and dignity of the House are maintained. Thereafter, the listed official papers were laid on the table of the House. Naidu then called for the Zero Hour, where MPs raise issues of public importance.

But just like the previous days, the Opposition MPs were up on their feet raising the snooping controversy, farm laws, fuel prices and other issues.