New Delhi: The Upper House (Rajya Sabha) was yesterdayrepeatedly disrupted and finally adjourned for the day as opposition members continued vociferous protests on the conversion issue and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi assure such incidents disrupting communal harmony will not take place.
Though the government, which asked the opposition if they wanted a ban on religious conversions or forced religious conversions, agreed to a discussion, the opposition was not ready to relent unless Modi participated.
Protests started as soon as the House met for the day, when Congress leader Anand Sharma raised the issue.
“We have given a notice for suspension of question hour. There is a serious situation in the country. An organisation that calls itself a social organisation, has started a controversial programme on ‘ghar wapsi’,” he said. The House was then adjourned by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien till 12 noon.
As proceedings resumed, the entire opposition appeared united in the House as a notice for adjourning the question hour was submitted by the Congress.
While the adjournment motion was not accepted by Chairman M Hamid Ansari, who was in the chair, the government agreed for a discussion.
Protests continued in the question hour, forcing Ansari to adjourn the House for 10 minutes and then till 2pm. In the post-lunch session, the uproar continued and opposition members said they wanted Modi to assure the House that such incidents will stop.
On the government’s side, Jaitley, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Home Minister Rajnath Singh were present, and offered to take up the discussion immediately.
However, opposition parties insisted that the prime minister should be called. “The incidents that are happening are a violation of the Constitution, and people related to ruling party are doing this,” Sharma alleged.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury then said mere discussion is not enough. “We are not a talking shop. Discussion should be followed by action,” he said.
Kurien said it is for government to decide who will answer the debate, also asking if the member was questioning the home minister’s competence.
Members from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party then trooped near the chairman’s podium, raising slogans. Other opposition members were seen raising slogans standing at their seats. In the din, the House was adjourned for half an hour, and later for the day.
The issue is expected to be raised in the House today as well with both sides refusing to relent.
Sharma told reporters later: “It is about upholding the Constitution, not the benevolence of the government.”
A circular by Navodaya Vidayalaya Samiti under the Human Resource Development Ministry to observe Good Governance Day on Christmas Day kicked up an uproar in parliament but the government sought to clarify the essay competition being held on the day was voluntary and no school had been asked to remain open.
The issue figured in both Houses of parliament with members in Lok Sabha coming near podium of Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to demand a clarification from the government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told the House that the government has not asked the schools to remain open for an essay writing contest on Christmas day and participation will only be voluntary and online.
He said no circular issued had been issued to say that schools should be run on that day.
The Christmas Day also happens to be the birthday of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the NDA government has decided to celebrate it as the Good Governance Day.IANS
