Opposition parties led by the Congress on Tuesday did not allow the Rajya Sabha to function on the issue of printing of two different kinds of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes and claiming that such notes were printed to benefit the ruling BJP. As the Opposition claimed it was the "biggest scam of this century," leader of House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Opposition was raising "frivolous issues" and making "irresponsible statements."
The proceedings were marred by repeated adjournments throughout the day with the Congress members time and again rushing into the Well of the House raising slogans and the BJP members engaged with them in a slanging match by standing in the aisles. The issue was raised during the Zero Hour and protests continued during the Question Hour and in the post lunch session too. The House was finally adjourned for the day at 2.40 pm. JD (U) and TMC members also backed the Congress protest.
Raising the issue, Kapil Sibal (Congress) claimed that the mystery of demonetisation last year was now clear with the distribution of different kinds of currency notes of various denominations. He charged there were two different types of currency notes one for the BJP and the other for masses. Sibal also displayed the currency notes.
Even as the ruling combine countered the charge, leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad termed the circulation of different sizes of notes as the "biggest scam of century," adding "the Government has no right to remain in office for even five minutes."
Backing his contention, JD (U)'s Sharad Yadav said how can two different sizes of currency notes can be in circulation and demanded an explanation from the Government. Some members, including Derek O'Brien(TMC) also displayed the Rs 500 notes issued after demonetisation to highlight the different sizes.
Rejecting the Opposition charge, Jaitley said there was no provision in the rules that anyone could "flash any paper and say it is point of order," to raise issues in the Rajya Sabha. "There is a misuse of zero hour which is going on," he said, adding that the Congress first raised the issue of provision for None-Of-The-Above (NOTA) in the ballot for Rajya Sabha poll but then discovered that the provision had been made during their rule. Countering Jaitley, Anand Sharma (Congress) said the credibility of currency was challenged after the introduction of different sizes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000.
law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded that the Opposition members should inform as to how and from whom they got these currency notes leading to sharp exchanges between the Congress and the Treasury benches.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Government was ready for a discussion on the issue and charged the Opposition for spreading rumours as they had done in the past about authenticity of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien tried to restore order and was then forced to adjourn the House twice during the Zero Hour. Similar noisy scenes were witnessed when the Question Hour was taken up by Chairman Hamid Ansari, who adjourned the proceedings twice. Same situation prevailed in the post lunch leading to adjournment for the day.