Ruckus in Parliament as Oppn seeks immediate debate on West Asia crisis

New Delhi: A resolution seeking removal of Om Birla as Speaker could not be taken up for discussion in Lok Sabha on Monday, as a relentless Opposition insisted on an immediate discussion on the situation in West Asia leading to the adjournment of the House without any substantial business, except for a statement by the government on the Iran issue.

The issue dominated the Rajya Sabha too on the first day of second leg of Budget Session, with the Opposition walking out of the House for the day after Chairman CP Radhakrishnan refused to entertain Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s demand for a short duration discussion on West Asia before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar make a statement on the issue.

At a meeting of I.N.D.I.A. floor leaders, sources said the leaders felt that they should insist on a discussion at a time the government's stand was seen as "questionable" and disrupt proceedings if needed. The resolution is likely to be taken up on Tuesday for which 10 hours have been allocated.

Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day a little after 3 pm as the Congress and ally MPs trooped to the Well of the House demanding a discussion on US-Israel's attack on Iran and subsequent developments. Meanwhile, Jagadambika Pal, who was on the Chair, attempted to get the Opposition-sponsored resolution seeking Birla's removal moved and taken up for discussion.

Birla is accused of not allowing Rahul and other Opposition leaders to speak, suspending MPs, accusing women MPs of planning to attack Modi and parroting the government line on “controversial” issues.

Pal alleged that the Opposition did not want to run the House and that they were "not serious" about moving the resolution they have submitted against Birla, as he insisted that Jaishankar's statement in Lok Sabha had addressed their concerns and still if they had objections, they should approach the Business Advisory Committee to demand a discussion.

While the House adjourned at 11 am for an hour after obituary references, Opposition MPs were on their feet as soon as the House reassembled at 12 noon after Pal cited the Speaker's decision to reject their adjournment notices and called Jaishankar to make the statement.

Armed with placards against the government, Opposition MPs immediately occupied the Well of the House shouting slogans as the minister explained the government's stand on the West Asia situation. Soon after he finished it, Pal said he wanted to take up the notice against Birla but the agitating MPs wanted the discussion on West Asia to commence.

As senior Congress MP KC Venugopal insisted that a debate on West Asia be allowed, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of not following ethics of the House and said the Opposition notice on Birla has been accepted and the government is willing to discuss it but opposition was disrupting the proceedings.

As the protests continued, Pal adjourned the House, claiming that the Opposition was working with a "political agenda", which is "irresponsible and immature". He also said that they were not serious about the notice they had submitted.

When the House reassembled, similar scenes were repeated with Pal saying that the Opposition was wasting taxpayers' money -- Rs 2.5 lakh per minute, Rs 1.5 crore for an hour and around Rs 9 crore per day -- by holding the House "hostage" to its demands. He adjourned the House for the day as the protest continued.

After the Opposition walkout, Rajya Sabha functioned smoothly with the House taking up the discussion on the functioning of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.