India News | Goyal Seeks Strict Action Against Opp Members Creating Ruckus, RS Adjourns Sine Die

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Union minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday sought strict action against opposition members creating ruckus and heckling marshalls in the Rajya Sabha as the Upper House was adjourned sine die two days ahead of the scheduled end of the Monsoon Session.

The house saw the passage of four bills, including the constitution amendment bills to grant powers to states to have their own OBC lists and privatisation of state-run insurance companies.

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Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, while thanking the members participating in the debates and helping in the passage of bills, demanded strict action against the opposition MPs who created ruckus in the Upper House.

He demanded that a high-level committee be formed to look into the behaviour of members who hurt the security staff and tarnished the reputation of the august house.

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Opposition members created ruckus during the proceedings in the house when the general insurance bill was taken up, with some of them allegedly manhandling the security staff and marshalls in order to prevent its passage.

Opposition members continued their protests over Pegasus, farm laws and other issues that have marred the proceedings since the beginning of the session on July 19, and they later walked out of the House.

"I feel strict action should be taken against the condemnable acts of some erring members. The dignity of this august house has been lowered as security staff was attacked. Such behaviour will not be tolerated and we condemn it," Goyal said.

He said no simple punishment can suffice, as exemplary action should be taken to deter members from indulging in violent acts in the future.

"From day one, the opposition had come with an intent that the House should not function in an orderly manner," he alleged.

Goyal demanded that the incidents be looked into, records examined and a special panel appointed for probe.

Recalling the "unfortunate"events in the house, he said they were shameful and efforts were made to tarnish the honour and dignity of the House.

The minister said the chairman, the deputy chairman, panel chairmen and parliament staff made efforts to run the House and security staff marshals risked their lives for its smooth functioning.

Goyal said while the chairman urged members to follow Covid protocol, "unfortunately" all protocols as well as discipline was violated. The House proceedings were disrupted repeatedly, he noted.

When the government agreed for discussions, he claimed that the opposition realised that there would be no complete washout of proceedings.

"So, they kept changing their stance and there was a competition within the opposition to disrupt the proceedings, he said.

"They tried to justify and legalise disruptions by citing previous incidents of disruptions. I have been in the House for 11 years, but I have not seen such a behaviour by opposition."

He recalled the suspension of a TMC member for snatching papers from IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as he was making a statement on Pegasus snooping row. He also referred to suspension of six members for a day.

"The House strongly condemns repeated insults of the chairman. We demand that opposition should appologise," he said.

Goyal also noted on August 4, the suspended, after adjournment of the proceedings, tried to enter the House, fought with security personnel, and even broke glass of the door using a mobile phone.

He said a woman security personnel was injured in the process. Despite this, the security personnel did not lose their cool and did not misbehave with anyone.

He also recalled incidents like throwing of papers by some opposition MPs, their climbing on officials' table, hurling files towards chair, and even video recording the proceedings and sharing them on social media.

"There should be a strict action on these condemnable incidents... The most condemnable behaviour was an attempt to strangulate a lady security staff," he alleged, adding that "even we were stopped from leaving the chairman's room".

"This is unfortunate. The country and House should not tolerate such behaviour"

Goyal also thanked the members for enabling the passage of 21 bills during this session.

On Tuesday, some TMC, Congress, AAP and Left MPs climbed on the House Table which is placed right below the presiding officers' chair and shouted slogans, forcing multiple adjournments. A Congress MP also threw a file towards the Chair.

Goyal said that after witnessing the scenes of violent actions by opposition members on Tuesday, the country would give a reply to such parties in the coming times.

"The 254th session of the Rajya Sabha which commences on July 19 has now come to a close," Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced.

"The house is adjourned sine die," he said.

Earlier in the day, Lok Sabha was also adjourned sine die.

The productivity of the Upper House in the session was 29 per cent, much below the average productivity of 95 per cent in the previous five sessions, Rajya Sabha Secretariat said in a statement.

As against total sitting time of 97 hours and 30 minutes in 17 sittings, the total functional time was 28 hours and 21 minutes, while 76 hours and 26 minutes was lost due to disruptions, RS officials said.

They said the time spent on passing bills was 45 per cent of functional time, while time spent on Question Hour was 14 per cent and 1 per cent on Zero Hour and special mentions.

A total of 19 bills were passed and two appropriation bills were deemed to be returned to the Lok Sabha, being money bills.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)