JOIN USKharge leads Opposition from the front, forces adjournments in Rajya Sabha on fuel price hike
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge opened his innings as Leader of Opposition(LoP) in Rajya Sabha on Monday by leading a protest against fuel price hike forcing adjournments after Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu disallowed his notice to suspend the business of the House to discuss the issue.
The House, which conducted business in the first hour, could function from 10 AM and the Chair announced the final adjournment of the day at 1:30 PM.
Kharge had submitted the notice for suspension of business to discuss the "huge and frequent increase in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG even when global prices are ruling low" but Naidu rejected it saying it could be deliberated during the debate on Appropriation Bills, leading to an adjournment of the House while the Question Hour was on.
The Karnataka MP, whom Naidu described as one of the longest-serving leaders of the country and that he has a "major role" in enabling the smooth functioning of the House, has recently succeeded Ghulam Nabi Azad, who retired on February 15, as the Leader of Opposition and Monday was his first day as LoP in the Upper House.
Naidu's decision to disallow Kharge's notice did not go down well with the Congress MPs who rushed to the well of the House and started sloganeering. Kharge said it was a "very important" and "burning issue" that has agitated the people.
"Petrol and diesel prices are nearly Rs 100 per litre and Rs 80 per litre respectively. LPG prices have also gone up. Rs 21 lakh crores have been collected by putting excise duty and cess. Because of this, the entire country including farmers are suffering," he said.
Congress MPs, who were in the well of the House, refused to return to their seats, prompting Naidu to quip, "if you don't want the Question Hour to continue, if you want to deprive people of Question Hour, I can adjourn the House...Don't make a joke of democracy."
As the sloganeering continued, Naidu first adjourned the House till 11 am. When the House re-assembled, Kharge once again demanded a discussion but Deputy Chairman Harivansh made it clear that the decision of the Chairman cannot be reversed.
With MPs continuing their protest, Harivansh adjourned the House till 1 PM. At 1 PM and 1:15 PM, Vice Chairperson Vandana Chavan adjourned the House for 15 minutes each. At 1:30 PM, she announced that the House is adjourned till 11 AM on Tuesday.
Earlier during Zero Hour, Naidu described Kharge as one of the longest-serving leaders of the country with vast legislative and administrative experience, as he has been an MLA in Karnataka for a record nine times without a break and twice a member of the Lok Sabha.
Kharge was also the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly twice besides being the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, he said.
"Leader of Opposition has a major role in enabling the smooth functioning of the House as per the Rules of Procedure and conventions of the House. I am confident that this august House will benefit significantly from the rich and diverse experience of Kharge-ji who has witnessed the functioning of the legislatures, both from the right and left side of the Chair," Naidu said.