Govt to seek action against opposition members over 'misbehaviour' in RS: Sources

The government will seek action against some Opposition MPs who allegedly misbehaved with the treasury bench members in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday after a TMC MP snatched papers from Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and tore those as he was about to make a statement on the alleged snooping row.

Government sources said some Opposition MPs "misbehaved" with the treasury bench members, including a minister, even after the House was adjourned.

"We are approaching the Rajya Sabha chairman seeking action against them as their behaviour is a blow to parliamentary decorum," a Union minister, who did not wish to be named, said.

Read | Pegasus snooping worse than Watergate scandal: Mamata Banerjee

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Shantanu Sen snatched papers from Vaishnaw after TMC, Congress and other opposition party members, who had earlier forced two adjournments of the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha, rushed into the well of the House as the minister was called to make a statement on the Pegasus snooping row.

Government sources said Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and his deputy Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi reached out to the Opposition members and assured them that the minister will reply to their queries after he makes his statement, but in vain.

With Vaishnaw not able to read out the complete statement, it was laid on the table and the House was adjourned.

However, the situation remained tense in the House as the two sides engaged in heated exchanges.

Sen alleged that Union minister Hardeep Puri verbally abused him in the Upper House of Parliament and was on the verge of physically assaulting him before he was rescued by his colleagues. Puri has so far not commented on the issue.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has described the opposition conduct as a "new low" in Parliament.