Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned without significant proceedings on Friday till December 27 amid ruckus by Opposition leaders over various concerns. Friday was the ninth day of the Parliament’s Winter Session, which has been repeatedly disrupted due to commotion.
The Lok Sabha was initially adjourned till noon and then for the day as MPs of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam created a ruckus over the construction of a dam on the Cauvery river, while Telugu Desam Party members demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh and a steel plant in the state, PTI reported.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2.30 pm on Friday amid the din created by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on the Cauvery river project and the Congress’ demands for a Joint Parliamentary Committee inquiry into the Rafale defence deal. The House was again adjourned within minutes when it reconvened.
On Thursday, the Upper House had been adjourned without proceedings.
Among the bills that were expected to come up for consideration in the Lower House were the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018, expected to be moved for consideration by Union Health Minister JP Nadda. The legislation, which aims to supersede the Medical Council of India and hand over its responsibilities to a Board of Governors, was introduced in the House on December 15.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, or the Triple Talaq Bill, will come up for discussion on December 27 after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday told Speaker Sumitra Mahajan that his party wanted to participate in a discussion on legislation.
“I give you a commitment that the Congress party will participate in the discussion on the Bill,” Kharge said on Thursday. The Bill had been introduced in the Lok Sabha earlier this week.
The Congress, meanwhile, said it does not mind discussing the Rafale deal in Parliament but it can do so only after a Joint Parliamentary Committee conducts an inquiry into it, PTI reported. Party spokesperson Jaipal Reddy told reporters that when the Congress comes to power in 2019, it will investigate the deal.
“We are ready for a discussion,” Reddy said. “We need certain facts to be collected, which can be done only by the JPC. What the JPC does is it collects facts...We don’t know the facts. How do you reach to conclusion without sure knowledge of facts.”
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