No end to Parliament logjam; Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha remain disrupted on Day 3 of Budget Session

The Congress' decision to adopt a hardline in Parliament on the PNB bank scam involving Nirav Modi caught the NDA government unawares as the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed disruptions for the third consecutive day on Wednesday.

As the Lok Sabha remained deadlocked, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan called a meeting of party leaders to end the impasse where the Congress found support from other Opposition parties to corner the Modi government, prompting Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar to cry foul.

Kumar and BJP's floor managers were foxed as the Congress made a U-turn and insisted on moving an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha over the banking scam instead of a short duration discussion it had agreed to have on the issue.

"Mallikarjun Kharge, Jyotiraditya Scindia and K C Venugopal had given notices for a discussion under Rule 193. Now with some newfound gyan from the Congress president (Rahul Gandhi), who returned from Italy, they are insisting on a different rule. They have to take Parliament seriously," the parliamentary affairs minister said.

Adjournments

Earlier, both the Houses witnessed successive adjournments with Congress, Trinamool Congress, TDP, TRS, YSR Congres, AIADMK and Shiv Sena members stalling the proceedings by raising slogans and waving placards.

In the Rajya Sabha, chairman M Venkaiah Naidu voiced strong disapproval over the vandalisation of statues of Lenin, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Periyar in different states.

"It's a shame. It's mad, mad, mad... whoever does it... whether it is in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal or Tripura," Naidu said in the Rajya Sabha.

The Lok Sabha Speaker was unsure whether the House proceedings would return to normal on Thursday, which is also the International Women's Day.

"Let's see, if not today, then in two-three days it will be resolved," Sumitra Mahajan told reporters when asked about her talks with leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha.

The Congress has been insisting on keeping the focus of the discussion in Parliament on the PNB scam while the government wants the deliberations to include transactions "over the years" that could give the BJP an opportunity to target the UPA regime as well.