RS adjourned till 2 PM amid uproar by SP members

Rajya Sabha proceedings were Tuesday adjourned till 2 PM following uproar by Samajwadi Party members after party chief Akhilesh Yadav was allegedly stopped at Lucknow airport while on his way to Allahabad.

Trouble started after as many as 15 members made zero hour mention on issues of public importance.

SP members were up on their feet trying to raise their issue but nothing could be heard and Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu ordered that nothing would go on record.

Naidu said he cannot allow them to raise the issue as they have not given notice and no member can raise issue without the permission of the Chair.

SP members said they have received information that Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav was stopped at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow by police in a bid to prevent him from visiting Allahabad to attend an oath-taking ceremony at Allahabad University.

"Please go to your seat. Please don't spoil the atmosphere. This is not the way. We have lost so much of valuable time," he said before adjourning the proceedings till 2 PM.

In a tweet, Akhilesh Yadav said, "The government is so afraid of oath ceremony of a student leader that it is stopping me at the airport to prevent me from visiting Allahabad".

Unlike the trend during the current Budget session, the House functioned when it met Tuesday.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad (Cong) said there are constitutional responsibilities on part of both the government and the opposition. These include passing a motion of Thanks to the President for his address to the joint siting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, and approving the budget.

He suggested that the discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address can be taken up on Tuesday and the debate on the Interim Budget 2019-20 on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said the government was agreeable to the suggestion.

"We can extend the tenure of the House if there is an agreement in the House" to discuss the six bills that are listed for taking up after the Motion of Thanks is passed and the Budget approved, he said.

However, his suggestion did not seem to have found favour with members.

The House then took up zero hour mentions.