Parliamentary updates of Day 1: Rajya Sabha adjourned four times before being called off for the day

Complete details of Day 1 of the monsoon session of the Parliament

Published: July 21, 2015 8:54 PM IST

By India.com News Desk

Parliamentary updates of Day 1: Rajya Sabha adjourned four times before being called off for the day

New Delhi, July 21: The Lok Sabha session was adjourned shortly after speaker Sumitra Mahajan read out obituaries of thirteen former members of parliament who demised in the intervening period between the previous session and the current monsoon session which began today. Following the tributes paid to the deceased MPs, the house was adjourned for the day.

However, the upper house was scheduled to proceed for the rest of the day. But the opposition which outnumbers the BJP in Rajya Sabha, adopted a strict line of approach. Uproarious scenes emerged from the house following the leaders of Congress, Samajwadi Party and Left demanding the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The speaker was forced to adjourn the house on four occasions, before calling off proceedings mid-afternoon.

Here is the update of the proceedings of the day:

11:00 am – The Lok Sabha paid tributes to 13 former MPs who died in the recent past on the first day of the Monsoon session today, following which the House was adjourned without any concrete business taking place. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also announced the resignation of Telangana Rashtriya Samithi MP Kadiyam Srihari from the Warangal constituency. Srihari is now serving as the deputy chief minister of Telangana.

11:20 am – After reading out the obituaries of the demised leaders, the speaker adjourned the house for the day.

11:30 am – Congress MP in Rajyasabha Hunamnth Rao demanded the ouster of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for allegedly helping Lalit Modi procure visa for his travel to Portugal from London. Rao raised a banner in the upper house demanding the resignation of Swaraj, following which an uproar was created in the house. The speaker adjourned the house till noon. Before the adjournment of the house, BJP leader MJ Akbar took oath as the member of Rajyasabha from Jharkhand.

12:00 pm – Congress MP Rajyasabha Anand Sharma demanded the Prime Minister to be accountable for the actions of the ministers. “Lalit Modi has fourteen charges framed against him. In March 2014, the government had issued blue corner notice to the government, but within months after the new government was formed, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj helped this man to procure travel documents. Later she clarified that it was done only on humanitarian grounds so that he could visit his ailing wife. However, the truth is that he is touring the entire world through the help provided by the external affairs minister.”

Leader of the house, Arun Jaitley responded to Sharma saying the external affairs minister is ready to debate on the issue and will clarify her stand. “We are ready to discuss in a systematic manner,” he added. However, Arun Jaitley was abruptly cut-off by the opposing members. Following a ruckus, the speaker was forced to adjourn the proceedings of the house.

2:00 pm – The principle of One Rank One Pension (OROP) for the Armed Forces has been accepted by the government, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha that the government has agreed on the principles of  OROP. However, the paramilitary forces have been kept out of the bracket.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “Parliamentary discussion cannot replace investigative inquiry. Serious charges of corruption has been labelled against the minister of external affairs and certain chief ministers of the BJP ruled states. The charges are punitive. Until an honest probe is not conducted in the matter, the ministers should step down. We will move ahead with the parliamentary discussions only after the resignation.”

Yechury recalled the similar demands made by Arun Jaitley in 2011. “I remember the then leader of opposition, Mr, Jiatley had raised a similar demand when allegations were labelled against UPA ministers,” he said.

Following Yeschury’s statements, Rajya Sabha speaker allows motion for discussion on Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi row to be moved. However, leader of opposition Anand Sharma did not move the motion despite the chair asking him several times to do so. Heated verbal exchange between members of opposition and BJP forced the chair to adjourn the Rajyasabha till 3 pm. (ALSO READ: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 3 pm: ‘Discussion only after resignation’, says opposition)

3:00 pm – Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed the withdrawal of Negotiable Instruments (amendment) bill which was passed in the house. Immediately after the motion was moved by Jaitley, leaders from Congress, Samajwadi Party and TMC arrived in the well of the house and demanded the resignations of Sushma Swaraj along with Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and her Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The leaders of opposition raised the slogans of “Pehle istaafa do, baad mei kaam karo (First provide resignation, then carry on the proceedings)” BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi strongly objected to obstruction of the proceedings in the house. “Our government is committed towards development. But the opposition is interested only in disrupting the house,” he said.

3:17 pm – Unable to set the house in order, the speaker announced to adjourn the house till 11 am on Wednesday.

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