Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm over Oppn MPs wearing T-shirts with slogans

Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed repeated adjournments as several members came to the House wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla objected to the DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, and said such actions were against the rules of procedure of the House.

Birla adjourned the proceedings till noon. Similar scenes were witnessed when the House reconvened at 12 noon and TDP member Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.

Tenneti also cited rules and said the behaviour of members was unacceptable.

DMK members were wearing white T-shirts with slogans '#fairdelimitation Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win' written on them.

"House functions with rules and procedures. Members have to maintain the dignity and honour of the House. But some MPs are not following the rules and violating the dignity which is not acceptable," Birla said when the House met at 11 am.

The Speaker directed those members, who came wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, to go out of the House and come back with proper dress maintaining dignity.

"However big a leader is, such undignified attire is not acceptable inside the House. Go outside, change your clothes and come back with a proper dress," he told the members citing parliamentary rules and adjourned the House till 12 noon.

DMK members have been trying to raise the issue of delimitation in the Lok Sabha, but Speaker had rejected their pleas contending that the issue is nowhere on the government radar as the census of population was yet to be conducted.  RS adjourned till 2 PM, Dhankhar convenes meeting of floor leaders

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned thrice during the pre-lunch period on Thursday over the issue of DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them in the House.

 

Soon after laying of papers, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings for an hour till 12 noon and called a meeting of floor leaders of various parties.

 

However, the deadlock over the issue continued and when the House reassembled at 12 noon, deputy Chairman Harivansh announced that the proceedings have been adjourned again for another 15 minutes.

 

At 12.15, he again came and announced that the House stands adjourned till 2 PM, amid the deadlock.

 

While the chairman did not cite any reason for the adjournment, the issue of DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them has been objected to by the chairman.

 

He discussed the issue with floor leaders of all parties, where several leaders were in favour of the smooth functioning of the House.

 

Sources said the upper house is likely to function normally after the chairman holds the meeting.

 

Earlier, the chairman said he wants to meet leaders of political parties over what he witnessed in the House.

 

Without sharing details of what he witnessed, Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon.

 

"I will be calling a meeting of floor leaders in my chambers at 11.30 am today. I would share with the members what I have seen in the House a while ago," he said soon after listed papers were laid on the floor of the House.