Lok Sabha adjourned till Monday, first week's proceedings washed out

New Delhi: It was a complete washout of Lok Sabha proceedings in the first week of the Monsoon session, as the Opposition remained unrelenting on its demand for the resignation of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.  The House was adjourned for the day today till Monday, minutes after it assembled this morning.

No business has been transacted since the session began on July 21, witnessing adjournments after adjournments over the opposition uproar.  Even the papers listed for the day were not tabled, as this is scheduled for noon every day.

Two bills—the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, were also listed today for consideration and passage.  

As soon as the House met, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced she had disallowed notices of adjournment motion moved by Congress and Left leaders on Lalit Modi controversy, Vyapam scam and other issues.

As soon as she took up the Question Hour, Congress members, wearing black bands on their arms, rushed to the Well shouting slogans and holding placards they have been displaying for the past three days accusing the Prime Minister of being “voiceless” while scams were taking place in his regime.

TRS members were separately raising the demand for a separate high Court in Telangana.

“You don't want to raise issues...you don't want to take part in the proceedings,” the Speaker remarked and adjourned the House for the day within five minutes after it assembled.

Some BJP members rose to object to the Congress members coming into the Well and blocking their view.  The Speaker often continues with the proceedings despite vociferous protests by the Opposition. But this is perhaps for the first time in the recent past that she adjourned the House for the day soon after it met.

Parliament's proceedings in the first week of the Monsoon Session were completely washed out, with both Houses adjourning today till Monday without transacting any business as the deadlock between the opposition and the ruling party persisted over issues like the Lalit Modi controversy and the Vyapam scam.  

The opposition, led by the Congress, remained unrelenting on its demand for the resignation of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister for allegedly helping controversial former IPL chief Lalit Modi and of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the Vyapam admission and recruitment scam.

Countering the opposition charge, the BJP members too raised slogans and got into heated exchanges with Congress MPs inside the House, after holding a protest against the opposition at the Parliament's main gate this morning.  

In the Lok Sabha, the opposition's slogan-shouting and counter-sloganeering by the BJP members led to the House being adjourned for the day, minutes after it had assembled at 11 AM. Congress members, waving placards, trooped into the Well just as the Question Hour was taken up.

 Speaker Sumitra Mahajan angrily said “You don't want to raise issues...you don't want to take part in the proceedings” and adjourned the House for the day within five minutes after it had assembled.

No business has been transacted since the session began on July 21, with both Houses witnessing adjournments after adjournments following sloganeering and verbal exchanges between the ruling and opposition sides.  Even the papers listed for the day in Lok Sabha were not tabled as scheduled at noon every day. Two bills—the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, were also listed today for consideration and passage.  

In the Rajya Sabha, heated exchanges between treasury benches and the Congress forced its adjournment twice, before it was adjourned for the day.

Congress and BJP members clashed after Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad blamed the ruling party of being a “stumbling block” in the functioning of Parliament.