JOIN US The Lok Sabha (LS) will have a sitting on Saturday to make up for the time lost due to disruptions, but the same is not true about the Rajya Sabha (RS) due to an apparent communication gap.
The Business Advisory Committee of both Houses of Parliament had decided to have sittings on Saturday in lieu of the holiday on August 16. As agreed earlier, LS Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday adjourned the House till Saturday despite some members pressing for a holiday.
After Kumar adjourned the House, a number of leaders, including Mulayam Singh Yadav, Basudeb Acharia and Gurudas Dasgupta, requested her to cancel the sitting scheduled for Saturday citing prior engagements. They had also approached Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, who appeared inclined to their suggestion but pointed that only the Speaker can take a decision.
Parliament sources said word went around that Kamal Nath was in favour of having a holiday on Saturday, prompting RS Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the House till Monday.
However, the Speaker remained firm insisting that she can overturn the decision only after taking the sense of the House after it convenes on Saturday.
Earlier, it was agreed that the much-delayed Food Security Bill would be taken up for discussion on Saturday, but with a number of leaders expressing their inability to be present it was decided to consider the bill on Monday.
“The House will function on Saturday. But many members and leaders have stated that they are going to be away. So, they have requested the Speaker that the Food Security Bill should not be taken up on Saturday, but on Monday. So the Bill will be taken up on Monday,” Kamal Nath told reporters outside Parliament House. The LS has not transacted any business since the monsoon session began on August 5 owing to disruptions first by Congress members on the issue of united Andhra Pradesh, then by TDP members for “Justice to Andhra” in the wake of the decision to carve out Telangana.
Later, the BJP members disrupted proceedings over the missing files related to coal block allocations. The LS also witnessed heated exchanges between the BJP and Congress over Kamal Nath’s style of functioning.
Meanwhile, the RS has been transacting business peacefully, barring a hiccup or two, with Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla winning appreciation for his floor management skills.