Both the houses of Parliament on Thursday saw disruption for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday with the Congress raising a din over the Rafale fighter jet deal demanding a Joint Parliament Committee(JPC) probe. The TDP, the AIADMK and DMK continued to raise the issue of the dam over special status for Andhra Pradesh and Cauvery dam issue respectively.
While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day shortly after it met due to pandemonium, the Lok Sabha saw repeated adjournments, but managed to pass the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill amid the ruckus. Efforts to pass The Consumer Protection Bill failed as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said there was too much din and the bill will be taken up on Thursday.
The Upper House witnessed uproar soon after papers were laid with the AIADMK and some members from Andhra Pradesh trooping into the well showing placards. In the din, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel demanded that senior Congress leader Anand Sharma should withdraw remarks made by him against the minister in the House on Tuesday. Goel said Sharma had wrongly quoted him to say that he had demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi on the Rafale issue. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said he would look into the records. Goel also said the Congress wanted to disturb the proceedings even though the government was ready for a debate on the Rafale matter.
As the Congress members waved placards demanding a JPC probe into the Rafale deal, the BJP MPs countered with placards seeking apology from Rahul Gandhi following the Supreme Court clean chit to the Rafale deal. As sloganeering from both sides continued, Naidu said, “It is very clear that none of you want the House to run. I do not want this (ruckus) to be seen by the people,” while adjourning proceedings for the day.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned on three occasions amid uproar after the government rejected the opposition demand for a JPC probe into the Rafale deal. As the House re-convened for the second time in the noon, members from the Congress, AIADMK and TDP trooped into the Well, holding placards and shouting slogans.
While AIADMK members protested the construction of a dam across the Cauvery river, those from the Congress demanded a JPC probe into the Rafale deal. The TDP sought to raise issues related to Andhra Pradesh.
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said there were “serious apprehensions” in the minds of the people over the Rafale deal and this needs to be probed by the JPC. Responding to this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government is ready for a discussion on this issue, but rejected the demand for a JPC. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the government was ready to discuss any issue demanded by the opposition, including the Rafale deal.
When the House met against at 2.00 PM, the surrogacy bill was taken up for consideration. Some members participated in the discussion before the bill was passed amid the din.