Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar could not make his first address as MP in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday as Congress members of parliament continued to shout slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, forcing adjournment till the next day yet again. The House was called off minutes after Tendulkar tried to begin his speech around 2.10 pm.
Tendulkar was expected to speak about the future of sports in India.
Earlier, Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu had reprimanded Congress MPs as they forced adjournment in the morning following a Delhi special court’s verdict in the 2G spectrum allocation cases. Naidu had adjourned the proceedings until 2 pm after Congress leaders stormed the well of the House.
A special court in Delhi on Thursday acquitted all the accused in the spectrum allocation cases. Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain his “false propaganda” during election campaigns about the alleged scam by the previous Congress-led government, PTI reported. One of those acquitted, A Raja, was a minister in that government.
Naidu refused to accept his submission as he had not given a notice beforehand. Azad and his party leaders shouted slogans to protest against Naidu’s decision and stormed the well of the House briefly.
Naidu said that some members had “developed the habit” of disrupting proceedings by obstructing the listed business of the day. “Please follow some decorum,” he said. “I condemn your behaviour. I will have to think about invoking rules. Don’t force me to do that.”
As Congress MPs refused to stop, Naidu adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm, instead of the usual noon. Modi was expected to be present by noon, as the Question Hour on Thursdays is for the Prime Minister’s Office.
On Wednesday too, Naidu had admonished Congress MPs for disrupting proceedings, as they demanded an apology from Modi for his allegation that his predecessor Manmohan Singh spoke to Pakistani officials about the Gujarat elections.
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