Opposition protests over the Rs 12,703-crore Punjab National Bank scam involving businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi forced the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to adjourn for a second day in a row. On Monday – the first day of the second leg of the Budget Session – both houses had been adjourned because of similar protests.
On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha was first adjourned till noon after proceedings were disrupted. The House had scheduled a discussion on “alleged systemic irregularities in the banking sector”, and Congress members insisted on a reply from the prime minister.
But the Treasury Bench maintained that the minister concerned would reply. The Lower House was adjourned after Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge said the government should speak up about how “perpetrators of frauds were allowed to flee the country”.
Earlier in the day, Telugu Desam Party legislators protested outside Parliament demanding a special package for Andhra Pradesh. Congress President Rahul Gandhi too backed the demands of the legislators from Andhra Pradesh, and said the government should pay the state its due at once. “We are for special category status for Andhra Pradesh,” ANI quoted Gandhi as saying. “The first thing we will do when we come to power in 2019 is give the state Special Category Status.”
In the Rajya Sabha, several Opposition MPs demanded that the Centre follow the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Cauvery water dispute and set up a Cauvery Management Board. The MPs stormed into the well of the Rajya Sabha, after which the Upper House was also adjourned till 2 pm. Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu asked the heads of all parties to meet him in his chambers.
When the Rajya Sabha resumed, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Goel said the government was ready to discuss the Punjab National Bank scam, The Hindu reported. “The people of the country should know who is behind the banking irregularities,” he said. However, as the sloganeering continued, Deputy Chairperson PJ Kurien adjourned the House for the day.
The first half of the Budget Session, which ended on February 9, was also marked by similar frequent adjournments after protests by leaders from Andhra Pradesh.
During this session, the government is hoping to counter the Opposition with its Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, which, once passed, will empower the Centre to attach assets of offenders declared as fugitives.
Among the other bills the government has listed for this half of the session are the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, in the Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, the government has listed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill and the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill.
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