Both Houses of Parliament faced repeated adjournments and disruptions through Wednesday, with the Opposition led by the Congress disrupting proceedings over several issues, ranging from Kumari Selja’s
Both Houses of Parliament faced repeated adjournments and disruptions through Wednesday, with the Opposition led by the Congress disrupting proceedings over several issues, ranging from Kumari Selja’s treatment in a Gujarat temple and Gen. V.K. Singh’s remarks about dalits.
Congress MPs on Wednesday forced three adjournments of the Rajya Sabha, protesting against the statements of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal disputing the version of former minister Kumari Selja that she was asked about her caste in a Gujarat temple. The Congress members trooped into the Well raising slogans, forcing three adjournments — the first time for 10 minutes, then till noon and thereafter again till 2 pm, alleging that the government’’s statements disputing Ms Selja’s remarks were “misleading”.
In the Lok Sabha, Union minister of state V.K. Singh was the focus of the Opposition’s attack, with the Congress creating a ruckus demanding action against him for his “dog analogy” and later staging a walkout. The Trinamul Congress and Left members too walked out of the House, with the Left seeking action against the min-
ister, who was present in the House, and the TMC seeking a statement of regret from him. As soon as the House met, the Congress sought to raise the issue but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she had disallowed all notices for the suspension of Question Hour.
Ms Selja created a stir during the debate on commitment to the Constitution on Tuesday claiming she was asked about her caste when she had visited a temple in Dwarka town of Gujarat as a minister in the UPA government.
As soon as the House met on Wednesday and took up Zero Hour, Leader of the House Arun Jaitley referred to the issue and said Ms Selja had, in fact, said very “complimentary words” during her visit to the Dwarka temple in February 2013. Mr Jaitley cited the visitor’s book in which she had lauded the “excellent” arrangements there. The Leader of the Rajya Sabha brought to the House a copy of the page of the visitor’s book of the temple, in which Ms Selja had purportedly written her remarks, with her signature. He read out the comments, which said: “With Lord Krishna’s blessings, had a very good darshan. The upkeep and maintenance of the premises is excellent. May the Lord bless all those who are fortunate enough to come here for his blessings.”
The remarks with Ms Selja’s signature were written on February 22, 2013.Reacting to this, Ms Selja said she was not referring to the main Dwarka temple, but “Bet Dwarka”. “Please don’t try to mislead the House. That day I had made it very clear it was ‘Bet Dwarka’ and not the main Dwarka (temple). Please don’t do this, Leader of the House. It doesn’t behove.” Ms Selja also said she was very happy with her visit to the main temple, where she was treated well and had “a very good darshan”.
Congress MPs were quickly on their feet, so were some from the treasury benches, as Ms Selja said the ministers should have “some grace”. As arguments followed, minister of state for power and coal Piyush Goyal chipped in to say that Congress members were trying to create “manufactured problems” and “manufactured discrimination”.
His comment further agitated Congress members who, led by Ms Selja, rushed to the Well. As the slogan-shouting continued, deputy chairman P.J. Kurien was forced to adjourn the House for 10 minutes. When it reassembled, there were similar scenes and Mr Kurien again adjourned proceedings till 12 noon. Congress MPs again trooped into the Well raising slogans as the House met at noon. Congress members raised slogans like “Samvidhaan ka apmaan band karo, band karo (Stop insulting the Constitution)”.
Amid uproar, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi again read out Ms Selja’s written statement at the main Dwarka temple, complimenting the authorities there for the arrangements. But it was inaudible in the din. As the uproar continued, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the House till 2 pm.
The House was adjourned twice briefly when it reassembled at 3 pm. Later, the proceedings started after Mr Kurien announced the leaders had decided to resolve the Selja remarks issue on Thursday.
In the Lok Sabha, unrelenting Congress MPs continued to raise slogans against Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd), demanding an apology. Congress Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge wanted to know what action the Prime Minister planned to take against Gen. Singh for his remarks. The PM was present in the House at the time.
The Congress’ protest continued throughout Question Hour, which continued in the din. The Speaker repeatedly urged Congress members to return to their seats saying the issue of intolerance had been discussed at length on Tuesday, and the home minister had given a detailed reply. However, Congress members continued to raise slogans in the Well as the Question Hour continued.
