Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu broke down today in the house while reading out a statement condemning what he called “sacrilege” and violation of the “temple of democracy” by the opposition.
Opposition MPs on Tuesday climbed the officials’ table at the centre of the Rajya Sabha, waved black cloths, and threw files during a discussion on the farmer protests over three central laws.
Members sat on tables and many stood on them, shouting slogans. Sources say the government wants strict action against the MPs and may report the incident to the parliamentary Ethics Committee.
Opposition MPs piped up then, alleging that the Chair was speaking for the government instead of staying neutral. Though the visuals of the opposition protests were not shown yesterday, MPs shared them on Twitter.
Mr. Naidu commented that “after the sacrilege”, members even posted on social media.” I was very sad and deeply anguished,” he said, asking members to “seriously reflect” on what happened.
By the time he was wrapping his statement, the opposition members had gathered around the table, clapping and chanting slogans.
The monsoon session of parliament, which began on July 19, has been a cycle of disruptions, adjournments, and protests in both houses over a range of subjects, mainly the Pegasus snooping scandal involving allegations that opposition politicians, journalists, activists, and others were targeted by Israeli Pegasus spyware sold only to governments.
Lok Sabha Speaker OM Birla said while addressing the media at the close of the session “I am pained that the house didn’t run smoothly. House functioned only for 21 hours and 14 minutes. 20 Bills were passed in Lok Sabha,”.
