New Delhi: Extension of Rajya Sabha sitting by a day in the ongoing Winter Session came in for severe criticism as Opposition parties on Wednesday slammed “bypassing” of rules and procedure stating that the members were neither informed nor was their consent taken for the move.

Citing the rule book, members of the Congress, the TMC and the AIADMK slammed the extension calling it “unprecedented”, “arbitrary” and “illegal”.

However, deputy chairman Harivansh said that it may be considered his “personal lapse” and a “lapse in his understanding” in not conveying at the time of adjourning proceedings on Tuesday that the sitting of the House has been extended by a day.  

“If you think it is a lapse (in not communicating about the extension in so many words), please it as a lapse of my understanding and my personal lapse,” he said. The chair pointed out that extension of the sitting of the House was on agenda of the BAC meeting of Tuesday after a request was received from the government. BAC minuted acceptance of the request, he said adding when he on Tuesday adjourned the proceedings of the House till 11 am on Wednesday, it was “implied” that the sitting of the House has been extended by a day. Intervening in the matter, Leader of the House Arun Jaitley conceded the rules provide for taking a sense of the House for extending the sitting but said since “an important business has been pending, the Chair has taken a decision. “It is being a long-standing tradition; we don’t question the ruling as far as the Chair is concerned,” he said. The government maintained that the Chairman was within his rights to extend the sitting in view of important legislations, including the one to
provide 10 per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to poor from upper castes, are pending.

The trouble on the day long extension began as soon as the House met on Wednesday.