Note ruckus stalls Houses again

New Delhi: Tempers soared in the Opposition benches in both Houses of Parliament as Monday witnessed another washout in the proceedings with the government remaining non-committal about its persistent demand for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence in the Upper House to discuss the demonetisation issue.

The Opposition created a din in both the Houses on the matter, as a result of which the Lok Sabha could not function for the third straight working day as the Opposition parties insisted on Adjournment Motion on demonetisation and a debate under a rule that entails voting.

The Rajya Sabha, which saw a day-long inconclusive debate on demonetisation on the opening day of the Winter Session on November 16, has also failed to transact any business since then as the Opposition has been pressing for presence of the PM for resumption of the discussion.

On Monday, the Opposition in the Upper House added another dimension by asserting that no discussion on the demonetisation issue would take place till the House adopts a resolution mourning the death of nearly 70 people allegedly due to hardships caused after scrapping of notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations. Among those pressing for the resolution were Congress, BSP, TMC and CPI(M). Leader of the House and finance minister Arun Jaitley accused the Opposition of running away from the demonetisation debate.

“Merits and demerits will come out in a debate... Why are they (Opposition parties) running away from debate? This is clear now that the Opposition is not ready for a debate and is coming up with new excuses to disrupt the House,” he said, amid slogan shouting by the Opposition members who were in the well of the House. Stating that the notice for suspension of the business under Rule 267 was accepted on the first day of the Winter Session and a debate had started, Mr Jaitley said the reported deaths could come up during the course of this debate and the reply to it. The House was adjourned repeatedly even as the government side, including minister of state for Parliamentary affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, continued to question the Opposition’s behaviour.

“The sense of the country is against the black money. Sense of the country is in favour of PM Modi and against those opposing the demonetisation,” Mr Naqvi said.

The Lok Sabha witnessed similar scenes, with the Opposition parties disrupting the proceedings for the third consecutive day by demanding Adjournment Motion (suspension of all work) and discussion on the demonetisation under a rule that entails voting.

Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the government was ready for the debate if the Opposition allowed the discussion under Rule 193 that does not entail voting or passage of a resolution. The Opposition rejected it. Due to the uproar, the House was adjourned repeatedly and the finally for the day at around 2PM.

In the Rajya Sabha, as soon as the House mourned the death of 130 people in the derailment of Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur on Sunday, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said an obituary reference condoling the death of 70 people due to hardships caused by the demonetisation should be moved by the Chair.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said while condolences have been expressed for those killed in Sunday’s train accident, the same should be done for the 70 people who lost their lives in the past 15 days.

“They are also citizens of this country. We want such an obituary reference to come from the Chair,” he said. He wanted the PM to come to the House for the debate.

Deputy chairman P.J. Kurien said if the members were ready, the discussion on demonetisation issue can resume immediately. “I would like to make it very clear that the Chair is ready for discussion if you are ready,” he said.

Claiming that 11 bank employees were among the 70 who lost their lives, Yechury asked the Chair to take the opinion of the House on moving a resolution condoling their death. He said the debate could be held after the obituary reference is made by the Chair.

Kurien virtually ruled it out saying “condolences are not done on demand. That has to come spontaneously. You can approach the Chairman (on that).”

He suggested that members could continue the debate on demonetisation but Congress members kept shouting slogans and other opposition members were seen standing on the aisles.