Rafale, Cauvery ruckus stalls Parliament again

New Delhi: The proceedings in Parliament were disrupted for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday with treasury and Opposition benches sparring again over the Rafale deal issue.

The TDP, the AIADMK and DMK continued to raise the issue of the dam over the Cauvery river and special status for Andhra Pradesh in both the Houses.

While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day soon after it met at 11 am, the Lok Sabha saw repeated adjournments, but managed to pass the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill amid the din. Efforts to pass another legislation, The Consumer Protection Bill, failed as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said there was too much of din, and the bill would be taken up on Thursday.

Wednesday was the sixth working day of the Winter Session which saw disruptions and adjournments over Rafale deal, special status for Andhra Pradesh and protests over construction of a dam over Cauvery.

The Upper House was adjourned for the day after Congress members holding placards seeking a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the Rafale deal, trooped into the Well of the House soon after official papers were laid on the table. They joined members of the AIADMK and DMK who have been trooping to the Well of the House over the Cauvery issue ever since the Winter Session began.

Treasury benches countered the Congress by raising banners seeking an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi following the Supreme Court clean chit to the Rafale deal.

As the slogan shouting from both sides continued, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said, “It is very clear that none of you want the House to run”.

“I don’t want this (ruckus) to be seen by the people,” he said, while adjourning proceedings for the day.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned on three occasions on Wednesday amid uproar after the government rejected the opposition demand for a JPC probe into the Rafale deal.

As the House re-convened for the second time in the noon, members from the Congress, AIADMK and TDP trooped into the Well, holding placards and shouting slogans.

Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said there were “serious apprehensions” in the minds of the people over the Rafale deal and this needs to be probed by the JPC.

Responding to this, parliamentary affairs minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government is ready for a discussion on this issue, but rejected the demand for a JPC. Home minister Rajnath Singh added that the government was ready to discuss any issue demanded by the Opposition, including the Rafale deal.

When the House met against at 2 pm, the surrogacy bill was taken up for consideration. Some members participated in the discussion before the bill was passed amid the din.