LS continues to witness uproar on Rafale, other issues

The Lok Sabha continued to witness uproar on Wednesday, as MPs of the Congress and other political parties trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans and waving placards in support of a range of demands.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to continue the proceedings of the Question Hour for some time, but had to adjourn the House till 12:00 noon.

The House continued to witness uproar even when after it reassembled.

Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, reiterated the party's demand for constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the 2016 deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jet for the Indian Air Force from Dassault Aviation of France.

Kharge said that people had “serious apprehensions” about the deal.

He not only claimed that the deal had cost loss to the exchequer, but also claimed that the state-own Hindustan Aeronautics Limited had lost out on technology transfer too in the inter-governmental agreement.

He stressed on the need to constitute a JPC to probe the deal and to “fix accountability”.

“Kindly allow this and all details will come out. Every file will be checked by the Parliament, not the Supreme Court,” said the veteran leader.

The Supreme Court recently dismissed the pleas for to probe the Rafale deal. The Congress, however, claimed that the apex court's ruling was based on inaccurate information it received from the government.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government was ready for discussion on any issue in the Lok Sabha, including the allegations about the deal to procure Rafale jets.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar rejected the Congress' demand for constituting a JPC to probe the deal.

Earlier, as soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, the MPs of the Congress came to the well of the House.

They raised slogans demanding a probe by the JPC into the reported irregularities in clinching the 2016 Rafale deal.

The Congress MPs waved placards that read “Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga, Rafale Par Koi Jawab Nehi Dunga” (I will not indulge in corruption, will not allow anyone else to indulge in corruption, I will not speak up on the allegation of corruption on Rafale deal).

The placards appear to be intended to take a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise to run a government that would never indulge in corruption and his reported silence on the allegation of corruption in the deal.

The Congress MPs also waved placards that read “Modi corruption exposed”.

Not only the Congress, the MPs of other parties, including All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Telugu Desam Party, too came to the well of the House, waving placards and raising slogans on multiple issues, ranging from scrapping the project to build a dam on Cauvery at Mekedatu to granting special status for Andhra Pradesh.

Sudip Bandopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress made an appeal for smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha proceedings.

He suggested that the issues raised by the Congress and other opposition parties should be discussed in the House.

A protesting AIADMK MP tore a paper and threw its pieces over the table.

The Speaker had to adjourn the House till 2:00 p.m.