Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju reached out to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday in a bid to break the persistent deadlock in the House. Opposition MPs took out a protest march in Parliament House complex demanding Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in the House.
Rijiju’s meeting with LoP Rahul Gandhi took place after the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm following opposition uproar in the Lower House for yet another day, sources said. In the meeting the Union minister is understood to have conveyed to LoP that since the Monsoon session began on July 20, the Lok Sabha has not been able to complete its Question Hour. Five bill have been passed without discussion amid din.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 PM on Wednesday as the Opposition continued their sloganeering over various issues, including police action against students.As soon as the House met, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asked members to go back to their seats and allow the House to take up the Question Hour.
“Sloganeering, whether inside or outside the House, is not good for democracy. By showing placards and sloganeering you are lowering the dignity of the House,” Birla told Opposition members.Birla said many members have approached him saying that important questions are listed but the House is not able to take up the Question Hour due to the disruption created by the Opposition in the ongoing Monsoon Session.
Meanwhile,Opposition MPs continued their protest march in Parliament House complex on Wednesday, demanding Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on alleged police excesses on students, discussion on “misappropriation” of Ram temple donations and statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
Carrying placards and raising slogans against the government, the Opposition MPs, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, marched from the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Prerna Sthal to Makar Dwar.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also participated in the protest and demanded accountability from the government.Taking a swipe at Shah, Kharge asked why hasn’t he been coming to the House.”They are disrespecting Parliament. It has been so many days but they don’t want to step inside the House. What is the issue in coming to the House and giving a statement?” Kharge told reporters.
Besides Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, SP’s Dimple Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav, TMC’s Sagarika Ghose and Mahua Moitra, NCP (SP) Supriya Sule, JMM’s Mahua Maji, RSP’s NK Premchandran, among others, participated in the protest.While marching, the protesting MPs lined up behind a big banner that read ‘Amit Shah jawaab do’.Priyanka Gandhi also lashed out at the government and sought accountability over the alleged police excesses against students.
