Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Thursday, minutes after they began, following loud protests by Opposition MPs. As the monsoon session of Parliament entered its fourth day, MPs from both the Opposition INDIA bloc and the ruling NDA staged protests against each other near the Makar Dwar inside the Parliament premises.
The INDIA bloc MPs reiterated their demands for the dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan with Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi also joining them. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other Opposition leaders were also present during the protest.
Top Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhikesh Yadav, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday amid repeated disruptions of House proceedings over the demand for a debate on the NEET paper leak issue.
TMC leaders Saugata Roy and Mahua Moitra were also present at the meeting. During the Question Hour, Birla had asked opposition leaders to meet him to discuss the duration and date of the discussion. He said that while the government is ready for a debate, he will allow it under House rules the opposition suggests.
The leaders raised slogans pressing for Pradhan’s resignation. The Parliament had been at an impasse since the start of the Monsoon Session amid protests by students over alleged irregularities in NEET and paper leaks. The students had also planned to march to Parliament on Monday, but the police deployed lathicharge and tear gas shells mid-way through, detaining 70 protesters.
While the government has said it is willing to hold a discussion on paper leaks on the floor of the House, the Opposition is pushing for Pradhan’s resignation. “There will be no discussion on the issue till the education minister resigns…It cannot be a fair discussion till he resigns,” Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said.
The union government is, however, accusing the Opposition of politicising the ongoing students’ stir and said it was shifting “goalposts”. It said its doors for dialogue with those leading the protests were “always open”, people aware of the development said.
Kharge and other Opposition leaders have called for a discussion on paper leaks to take place under Rule 267, which allows for issues of urgency to override listed business of the House. Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh, however, reasoned that the Chair’s ruling had already specified that discussions under the said rule could not be allowed.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Thursday, minutes after beginning, following loud protests by Opposition MPs.
Also read: PM Modi announces fast-track courts for paper leak accused
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