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Latest updates: The Rajya Sabha was adjourned soon after Chairman Venkaiah Naidu reminded the MPs of their duties. The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reminded the members that the House was a platform for raising issues for the welfare of the people. MPs from various Opposition parties were seen protesting outside the Parliament on Friday before both Houses convened on the final day of the second leg of the Budget Session. While Congress MPs were seen protesting with placards that read “We oppose constitution of Cauvery Management Board”, Punjab Congress MPs were protesting demanding farm loan waiver. Meanwhile, TDP MPs were seen demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh, dressed in yellow. The second leg of the Budget Session of Parliament headed for a complete washout on Thursday, with the penultimate day witnessing adjournment of both the Houses without transacting any legislative business due to continued protests by the Opposition parties. The second half of the session, which began on 5 March, has been a washout with no legislative business being transacted as yet, barring the crucial Finance Bill by Lok Sabha. The Congress and BJP members traded charges in the Lok Sabha over the near washout of the session as noisy protests by AIADMK members seeking setting up of the Cauvery water management board saw the House being adjourned for the day. The proceedings in the Rajya Sabha too witnessed uproarious scenes when it met on Thursday morning, leading to the first adjournment till 2 pm. Thereafter, the continued ruckus forced the House to be adjourned for another 15 minutes and then for the day. [caption id=“attachment_4401519” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Representational image. PTI[/caption] The heated exchanges between the government and the Opposition in the Lok Sabha also saw Congress leader Sonia Gandhi being agitated over certain names being taken by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar holding them and her party responsible for the disruptions in the House. The names mentioned by Kumar were expunged by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The House, as in the past in this session, saw AIADMK members trooping into the Well and raising slogans. This led the Speaker to adjourn the House till noon. At noon, even before the House re-assembled, the AIADMK members were again in the Well raising slogans such as ‘we want justice’ and ‘we demand Cauvery board’. After the listed papers were laid, Congress, NCP, Left, TDP and RJD members stood at their seats seeking the Speaker’s ruling on the notices they had given on the no-confidence motion, moved by some of them. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the entire Opposition was ready for a discussion on the no-confidence motion, besides seeking debates on alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act by the Supreme Court and the banking involving diamantaire Nirav Modi. “We are ready for discussion. Kindly allow us to move the no-confidence motion to discuss various issues,” Kharge said. Countering him, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government was ready for a debate but the Congress and some of its leaders were against the debate. His remarks angered the Congress members who strongly protested saying it was the government which was running away from the debate. An agitated Sonia Gandhi and other Congress members strongly objected when the minister took names of a few party leaders alleging they were trying to stall the debate. At this, the Speaker intervened and ruled that no names should come on record of the proceedings. With AIADMK MPs continuing sloganeering, Mahanaj said she cannot take up notices on the no-confidence motion till the House is in order. But as the noisy protest continued, she adjourned the House for the day. In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition parties continued to stall proceedings on Thursday, forcing an adjournment till 2 pm within about 10 minutes after it had met for the day. While DMK and AIADMK protested over the Cauvery issue and MPs from Andhra demanded special status for the state, TMC members charged the government with misleading the House on the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill. With inputs from agencies
Parliament LIVE updates: Why did the Congress not allow business to happen, asks Ananth Kumar
The second leg of the Budget Session of Parliament headed for a complete washout on Thursday, with the penultimate day witnessing adjournment.
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Why did Congress not allow business to happen? asks Ananth Kumar
“From 5 March to 27 March, why did the Congress not allow business to happen?” said Union minister Ananth Kumar. “On 15 and 16 March, the YSRCP and TDP motions of no-confidence were brought up. Congress brought it up on 27 March? Why did they bring it up so late?” he added.
“Congress has become a marginal party, even in the Parliament,” he said. “They don’t have their own parliamentary strategy for both the Houses. They don’t have parliamentary logic,” he added.
BJP will protest against negative attitude of Congress: Ananth Kumar
Venkaiah Naidu reminds MPs of their duties
“I make an appeal to all of you to appear here next time to do what we were given to do at the time of Independence,” said Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.
Lok Sabha is a platform to raise issues for welfare of people: LS Speaker
“This Sabha is for a platform the raise issues for the welfare of the people. I understand that MPs have several issues they want to raise but they should keep in mind that the country has a variety of issues which need to be focused on,” said Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Ruckus in Lok Sabha
LS Speaker reminded the MPs that today was the last day of the second leg of the Budget Session, even though the MPs continued shouting.
Punjab Congress MPs protest in Parliament, demanding farm loan waiver
TDP MPs protest in Parliament demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka Congress MPs protest in Parliament seeking constitution of Cauvery Management Board
Karnataka Congress MPs protest in Parliament opposing constitution of Cauvery Management Board
TDP MP Sivaprasad has consistently used different costumes as a sign of protest
Five YSRCP MPs to submit their resignation from Lok Sabha to Speaker
Both TDP and YSRCP heightened their protests today demanding special status of Andhra Pradesh. YSRCP, however, seems to have taken the lead in the Lok Sabha with five of its MPs likely to tender their resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, ANI said.
Visuals from BJP parliamentary party meet
(Updates begin for 6 April)
YSRCP MP PV Midhun Reddy submits resignation from Lok Sabha: ANI
PJ Kurien says he can move motion to expel members protesting in Rajya Sabha
Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said that he has an alternative to deal with the protests in the Upper House. “As per rule. I will see that a motion is moved to expel all protesting members. Thereby, you will lose all your voting right,” he told the protesting MPs.
Kurien went on to read the rules of the Rajya Sabha. “You are all eligible for suspension,” he said.
Lok Sabha reconvenes, AIADMK members protests continue
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge urged Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to take up the no-confidence motion as the AIADMK continued protesting in the Lower House.
Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm
Both the Houses of the Parliament were adjourned within minutes of reconvening on Thursday amid protests by the Opposition parties.
Subramanian Swamy refuses to forego salary
Asserting that he attended the House proceedings daily, Subramanian Swamy said that it isn’t his fault if the Parliament didn’t function. “Anyhow, I’m the president’s representative. Until he says so, how can I say I’ll not take my salary?” ANI quoted him as saying.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul join Opposition protest in Parliament
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi have joined the Opposition protest in New Delhi against the Centre.
Congress had said on Wednesday that it would not mind if Parliament session was extended by a day or two, but a debate on key issues should take place. “We want to hold discussions on key issues of national importance and we also want to pass legislation. The government should take the lead in doing so. We are not averse even if the session is extended by a day or two,” Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had told reporters.
Opposition protests in Parliament premises over issues like farmer woes, SC/ST Protection Act
Leaders of several Opposition parties are holding a demonstration inside the Parliament premises over various issues.
Over a dozen Opposition parties had appealed to Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday for holding discussion on key matters like the SC/ST Act, PNB bank fraud, CBSE paper leak and Cauvery issue. Opposition leaders, including from the Congress, BSP, SP, DMK, NCP, TMC and the Left parties, had met in Parliament to discuss the lack of debate.
BJP, NDA MPs won’t take 23-day salary
BJP and NDA party MPs announced on Wednesday night that they will take a pay cut for the 23 days wasted in the second phase of the Budget Session as they accused the Congress party of playing negative politics.
Announcing the decision, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said it has been decided that the NDA MPs would be giving up their salary and other allowances for 23 days “for which parliament was not allowed to function by the Congress”.
‘You deprived the Dalits’
As Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad blamed the government for not listening to demands of Dalits, BJP’s Vijay Goel said it was the Congress who was actually being “anti-Dalit”.
“Let’s have a discussion in the House over who is anti-Dalit. You ruled the country for so long and deprived the Dalits of their basic needs. We brought many Acts in favour of Dalits. You did not even give Bharat Ratna to Bhimrao Ambedkar,” Goel said.