New Delhi, Aug 5 (UNI) In what could be termed as the most dramatic day in the monsoon session of Rajya Sabha, tempers flew high and frustration of the opposition party members reached its zenith on Thursday after the suspension of 6 TMC members yesterday.
The opposition protests in the Upper House reached its loudest point and the tone was set in the beginning itself after Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh mentioned about a suspended TMC MP allegedly breaking the glass of the door while trying to barge into the Chamber.
"One of the members of Rajya Sabha, who was earlier suspended from attending the meeting of the House for the day under Rule 255 of Rajya Sabha tried to enter the Rajya Sabha Chamber, and on being stopped by the security personnel, broke the glass of one of the doors of inner lobby of the Rajya Sabha Chamber. A lady security officer from the Parliament Security Service was hit by the glass piece and got injured. She has lodged a complaint and the matter is under consideration of the hon'ble Chairman," said the Deputy Chairman terming the conduct highly deplorable.
As soon as the Deputy Chairman finished, senior TMC member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy was quick to retort. He emphatically noted that the member whose name was mentioned in the incident was suspended yesterday only for the remaining period of the meeting and came to collect her belongings after the House was adjourned for the day.
"Yesterday, the House was adjourned around 3.15 p.m. and they were not allowed to enter. They were sitting in the Central Hall, and the lady bags were here in the Chamber of the House. They were supposed to come and take away their bags, after the adjournment of the House. There was no meeting. The House was adjourned for the day, they were not allowed by the security people, and in the commotion, the glass pane was broken," he said with black ribbon on his wrist as a mark of protest.
"How come the responsibility lies on her? And for that, she will be suspended again today," argued Roy angrily.
Following this, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge remarked that the protest that happened in the House yesterday is not new.
"Kal ka incident koi naya nahi hai ki pradarshan karna, yahan par apni baat rakhne ke liye jo kuch hum log karte hain wo parliamentary democratic way se hi karte hain. (The incident that happened yesterday is not new. Whatever we do to put across our points are done through democratic means)," Kharge said.
He also quoted Late BJP leader in the House Arun Jaitley who had said, "disruption is a part of democracy."
Not a single day of the ongoing Monsoon session has gone without vehement protests over various issues especially alleged Pegasus snooping scandal which has continuously reverberated in the House but today all past records were broken.
A day after six TMC MPs were suspended for showing placards and defying the Chair, the same scenes unfolded again in the House and protests continued with even higher intensity.
Just after the Parliamentary Affairs Minister V Muraleedharan tabled various reports on behalf of his colleagues, the Congress Party protested and tried to corner the government as to why the Minister was invariably presenting reports on behalf of other ministers.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram raised a Point of Order to bring up the issue.
"We can understand the Parliamentary Affairs Minister occasionally laying a paper on behalf of his colleague who is unable to attend the House for some reason. But every day we find the Parliamentary Affairs Minister lays the papers for half a dozen Ministers. Those half a dozen Ministers don't respect the Rajya Sabha," he said.
The Deputy Chairman, however, noted that the issue had been raised by Anand Sharma also yesterday and that the arrangement was with the prior approval of the Chair in view of Covid-19.
Sloganeering and commotion continued in the House forcing multiple adjournments during the day. All the Bills that were taken up for consideration in the House were passed amid loud protests and heated atmosphere. Many members kept holding the placards and raised slogans, "Discuss, Pegasus" and "Tanasahi nahin chalegi (No to Dictatorship."
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021 and the Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021 were passed amid din.
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