Lok Sabha adjourned for 5th day as row over Neet stalls proceedings

Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out for the fifth day in a row on Friday as the opposition stuck to its demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, while the government said any excuse to not let a debate take place on the Neet paper leak issue would send a wrong signal to the country.

When the House met at 12 noon after an earlier adjournment, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju pointed to the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and said the government has repeatedly reached out to opposition parties to let debate on the paper leak take place in Parliament.

He said while several opposition MPs are of the view that debate should take place, Gandhi should make his party members understand the need for a discussion.

He said making excuses and attaching pre-conditions before a debate will send a wrong message to the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also assured of a stringent law on paper leaks and holding trial of the accused in fast-track courts, he said, while also noting that activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended his hunger strike.

He said the Union Cabinet will take a decision on the proposed law on Friday.

However, the Congress and other opposition parties continued to insist on resignation of Pradhan and shouted slogans like "Istifa Do".

When Gandhi wanted to speak, Jagdambika Pal, who was presiding the House, said he will give him a chance after minister's table parliamentary documents but the House was later adjourned for the day till Monday and the Congress leader couldn't speak.

For the past five days, the House has been witnessing repeated adjournments due to opposition protest over the Neet paper leak issue.

Earlier as the House met for the day, Speaker Om Birla mentioned that the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas is to be observed on Sunday and paid tributes to gallant armed forces personnel.

The opposition members soon started raising slogans demanding Pradhan's resignation and Birla reminded them that he has already assured them of a debate on the issue of paper leaks in accordance with the House rules.

He said the Question Hour is an important part of House proceedings where members can hold the government accountable and urged the opposition not to disrupt proceedings.

The Question Hour has not been completed on any of the five days so far. The Monsoon session ends on August 13.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned further till 2 pm as Opposition parties continued to protest, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the Neet paper leak and police action on students.

As soon as proceedings resumed at 12 noon after the adjournment in the morning, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Mallikarjun Kharge once again raised the demand of Pradhan's resignation.

"The Education Minister should resign," Kharge said, while NDA MPs objected to the demand. Chairman CP Radhakrishnan adjourned the proceedings until 2 pm following the pandemonium.

Earlier, when the House met at 11 am, Radhakrishnan went ahead with the Zero Hour proceedings. However, there was an uproar from the Opposition benches over the police action against students protesting the Neet paper leak.

When Kharge began speaking on the Neet issue, the chairman adjourned the House until 12 noon amid the din.

The House has not been able to conduct any substantial business since Monday -- the first day of the Monsoon Session -- due to repeated protests and adjournments.