Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2.30 p.m. amid ruckus

The Rajya Sabha on Friday saw repeated adjournments in the pre-lunch sitting on the issue of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav's disqualification and the allegations of conniving with Pakistan levelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.

The Upper House was adjourned till 2.30 p.m. soon after it met for the Question Hour after a short adjournment, amidst heated exchanges between the opposition and government over allegations against Manmohan Singh and others.

"This is not an ordinary allegation. Questions have been raised over the integrity of a former Prime Minister, former Vice President and several retired diplomats," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said as he demanded a discussion on the issue under Rule 267.

However, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu rejected the request and asked the members to continue with Question Hour.

This led to a heated exchange between the opposition members and the government. Naidu adjourned the proceedings till 2.30 p.m., stressing that the members are not willing to run the House.

Modi had claimed that during a meeting at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's house, guests including Manmohan Singh, discussed the Gujarat polls with Pakistan's High Commissioner to India and former Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri.

Earlier, the House saw a brief adjournment over the disqualification of JD-U members Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar Ansari. Naidu announced this in the House soon after the Rajya Sabha met for the day, citing defection as the ground for the disqualification.

As the opposition members raised objections to it, Naidu said that there could not be any discussion on the Chair's ruling.

"We are not challenging your ruling. But the facts given as ground for disqualification are not (plausible). Sharad Yadav has not defected from the Mahagathbandhan. It is Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his companions who have deserted the Mahagathbandhan. In fact, they should be disqualified," Azad said.

The JD-U MPs loudly objected to it while the opposition members came near the Chair's podium shouting slogans. The Chair adjourned the House till 12 noon.

Earlier, Naidu congratulated the Indian sportsperson, including the nominated member Mary Kom, who performed well recently in various sports at the international level.

Prime Minister Modi also introduced the new members of his Council of Ministers to the House.

--IANS

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