Opposition continued remain in a bellicose mood on the issue of suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha members and warned that Parliament could see further disruption if the action was not reviewed.
The suspended MPs sat near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament premise to register their protest.
The proceedings of the Upper House were adjourned for the day as opposition members lodged strong protest on the issue. The first adjournment happened soon after the House met for the day and then two other adjournments followed.
The MPs demanded that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge be allowed to speak on the suspension, while the treasury bench moved the Dam Safety Bill for consideration. As the Chair refused to let Kharge speak, Opposition members raised vociferous protest. Placard-carrying opposition MPs trooped into the well of the House and shouted slogans against the suspension.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu expressed dismay at their conduct, and said the suspended MPs have shown no remorse, and there was no question of revoking their suspension. "It is sacrilege of the House, I have said (on the conduct of the 12 suspended MPs during the last session in August). There is no remorse by members who have really insulted the parliamentary system," he said.
Naidu ordered that nothing that the opposition MPs say would go on record but said their conduct in the Well of the House should be shown to the people of the country.
"Protest will go on until this illegal suspension is revoked. It is autocratic. Other opposition colleagues have been protesting in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha," Shiv Sena leader Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi told The Pioneer.
Ripun Bora, another suspended MPs belonging to Congress, said "Every day from 10 am to 11 am opposition MPs are protesting and will continue to do so. The suspended MPs are also sitting in protest and will do so every day from 10 am to 5 pm in front of the Gandhi statue."
"Rajya Sabha Chairman should explain why they have been suspended as they were raising farmers' and peoples' issues such as price rise and Pegasus snooping allegations. Is that an offence? Should we apologise for it?," Bora stated.
As soon as the House resumed in the afternoon, Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was in the chair, asked Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to move The Dam Safety Bill, 2019 for consideration in the House. The minister moved the motion for consideration of the bill by the House, and thereafter the Deputy Chairman asked him to speak on the bill. In the meantime, Kharge asked the Deputy Chairman to allow him to speak on the issue of suspension of 12 members of the House. However, Harivansh did not allow him to raise the matter, and said he can speak on the Bill.
As the minster started his speech on the Bill, opposition members started raising slogans and again demanded that Kharge be allowed to speak on the issue of suspension of members. Harivansh requested the opposition members not to come into the Well and to go back to their seats.
He also told some members that photography in the House is not allowed when they tried to click pictures with their phones. But when opposition members refused to relent, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the House till 3 pm and thereafter for the day after a brief functioning of the house.