The first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced on an uproarious note on Monday with the Opposition vociferously demanding discussion on issues ranging from price rise to the ‘Agnipath’ army recruitment scheme forcing adjournments of the two Houses for the day.
The morning session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned until 2 pm to allow members to vote in the Presidential election even as opposition members tried to raise their issues.
Three newly-elected MPs — Bollywood actor and Trinamool Congress' Shatrughan Sinha (West Bengal) and two BJP members from Uttar Pradesh Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua and Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi — took oath as member of the Lok Sabha.
Speaker Om Birla then read out obituary references to three foreign leaders — former Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe, United Arab Emirates president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Kenya's third president Mwai Kibaki.
As opposition members raised slogans, Speaker said elections in India are celebrated as a festival and since the election to the President was underway, it should also be celebrated. He said members should participate in the festival and adjourned the House adjourned till 2 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Congress leader of the house Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were among those present in the House. When the Lok Sabha resumed proceedings, a bill to grant statutory cover to family courts set up in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and retrospectively validate all actions taken by them was introduced amidst din by Law Minister Kiren Rijiju amid din created by opposition members over issues such as rising inflation and Agnipath military recruitment scheme.
The house was adjourned for the day by BJP member Rajendra Agarwal who was in the chair after about six minutes’ proceedings.
The Family Courts Act was enacted in 1984 to set up family courts to promote conciliation and secure speedy settlement of disputes related to marriage and family affairs. There are 715 family courts functioning across 26 states and Union territories in the country.
Two family courts were established in Nagaland in 2008 and three in Himachal Pradesh in 2019 through notifications issued by the respective state governments.
The issue of lack of jurisdiction of family courts in Himachal Pradesh came to the fore during proceedings of the Himachal Pradesh High Court last year.The Rajya Sabha too could not be run in the wake of loud opposition protests.
Congress members trooped to the Well of the House raising slogans as soon as Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu read out the obituary references.
“As some people have come determined not to allow the House to function and also enable members to go and vote in the Presidential election, I am adjourning the House for the day,” Naidu said.
In the Rajya Sabha, Naidu made obituary references to former members Kishore Kumar Mohanty, Robert Kharshiing, K K Veerappan and santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament started on Monday and will conclude on August