LS adjourns for the day amid Opposition's uproar over NEET; ruckus in RS too

The proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned for the day on Friday (June 28) as the Opposition demanded a discussion on the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET.

When the House reassembled at 12 noon, Opposition members continued with their demand for a discussion on matters related to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Speaker Om Birla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told Opposition members that they can discuss the matter during the course of the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

Birla said there are certain norms of Parliament that have to be followed and committees have to be formed to which Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said students are not aware of it. They are only demanding justice.

Will address all issues: Rijiju

As members from the Congress, TMC and DMK parties stormed the Well, Rijiju said it is for the first time that the Opposition is seen demanding a discussion on an issue before the House takes up the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

“I assure the Opposition we will answer any issue that you raise during the Motion of Thanks discussion,” Rijiju said.

As members continued with sloganeering, Birla said the people have elected members to this House so that they can raise and discuss issues, and not disrupt the proceedings.

“There is a difference between protest on the road and protest inside the House... You (Opposition) don't want House to run? You don't want to discuss NEET during Motion of Thanks discussion?” Birla said.

As the House continued to see uproar, Birla adjourned the proceedings till Monday.

Amid din, TMC member SK Nurul Islam took oath as a Lok Sabha member. When the House met in morning, Opposition members were on their feet seeking the acceptance of an adjournment motion to suspend all business and discuss matters related to NEET.

However, the Speaker said he would first take up the obituary references to 13 former members, including ex-Lok Sabha speaker and ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi.

When the obituary references were over, the Opposition members were on their feet again.

Rahul for dedicated discussion

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the NEET issue is a very important issue for the whole country and they want a dedicated discussion in the House on the matter. Hence, the adjournment motion should be accepted, he said.

However, Birla said he could not allow it as the House was about to take up the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

“You can raise all matters in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address. You will get enough time. But I can't allow you to raise any other issue during the debate on the Motion of Thanks. It was already decided and mentioned in the bulletin too,” he said.

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha proceedings were also adjourned till 2 pm on Friday amid an uproar by the Opposition over alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET, with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar expressing anguish over Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge entering the Well of the House.

The government assured that it will reply on the NEET issue.

“The leader of the opposition has entered the Well of the House. This has never happened,” Dhankhar said before adjourning the proceedings till 2 pm.

The uproar started after Dhankhar did not approve of 22 notices by members from the Opposition benches under a rule (Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha procedures) to suspend listed business of the day and hold discussion on the NEET issue.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari sought to raise a “point of order” after the Chair rejected the notices. However, Dhankhar tried to impress upon the members that they would get ample opportunities during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address. A total of 21 hours have been allocated for it.

Oppn seeks Pradhan’s resignation

The Chair informed the House that the President, in her speech, had said that the government is fully committed to investigating the recent incidents of paper leaks and ensure that the guilty are punished.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge also urged the Chairman to accept the demand for discussion. However, Dhankhar did not agree, and asked BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi to initiate the discussion on the motion of thanks.

As Trivedi started his speech, several opposition members entered the Well of the House raising slogans. They were also demanding resignation of the Union education minister.

Dhankhar asked the Opposition members standing in the Well to return to their seats. He also warned that they could be named. In particular, he cautioned TMC members Sagarika Ghose, Derek O'Brien, and Saket Gokhale.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda slammed the Opposition for disrupting proceedings. Gowda said while he agrees that responsibility has to be fixed in the NEET case, the government has taken the right decisions, a probe is underway and arrests have been made.

Nadda questions Congress intent

Earlier, the House was adjourned till 12 noon amid ruckus by the Opposition MPs. However, when the Rajya Sabha reconvened, the Opposition MPs trooped into the Well again, raising the NEET issue.

As Opposition protests continued, Dhankhar nudged Leader of the House, JP Nadda, to appeal to the Opposition. Nadda said it is unfortunate that his first address to the Rajya Sabha as Leader of the House is under circumstances when an “attempt is being made to hold the House hostage”.

“The Business Advisory Committee had held discussions on Thursday and decided that 21 hours will be allocated for discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's address. The Opposition did not bring the NEET issue for discussion in the BAC meet,” he said. He accused the Congress of not being serious about debate and alleged that the Congress had no intention to participate in the debate on either the Motion of Thanks or NEET. He said the government is keen on taking up the NEET issue but the Congress doesn't want a discussion.

(With agency inputs)