New Delhi: Notwithstanding the unabated pandemonium created by the Opposition over JPC probe on the 16th working day, Parliament on Friday concluded crucial financial
business with Rajya Sabha passing the supplementary demands for railways of Rs 1024.61 crore amid din.
The Upper House passed the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2010-11 by voice vote and without debate, as Opposition members disrupted proceedings by raising slogans inside the well.
An important measure, the National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010, was also introduced in the House where the Question Hour was earlier disrupted when it met in
the morning.
While the government pushed through these important measures, the Opposition continued to raise slogans demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam, repeating scenes witnessed over the last 15 successive working days.
The House was adjourned till 1430 hours.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha where Speaker Meira Kumar appealed to the protesting members to allow the House to take up private members` business.
Observing that private members` business has not so far been taken up in this session, she said the members might not get another opportunity in future if their items were not
taken up today.
"It is my earnest appeal to all sections of the House to allow private members business", she said before adjourning the House till 1530 hours.
Earlier, Kumar made a reference to the differently-abled people on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and underlined the need for ensuring that such people get the
rightful place in the society.
She also led the House in paying homage to the first president Rajendra Prasad.
Earlier, when Parliament met for the day, both Houses paid homage to the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy on its 26th anniversary and observed silence.
In the Rajya Sabha, Vice President Hamid Ansari regretted the "indifferent attitude" of authorities in the subsequent years of the tragedy and said it had compounded the "human
tragedy of unparalleled magnitude".
Expressing sympathies to the families of thousands of people who died and others affected by the leak, Ansari said, "The tragedy still haunts us in the form of incapacitated
people and children born with deformities."
Terming it as a "human tragedy of unparalleled magnitude which shocked the conscience of the world," he said, "The criminal human folly that caused this tragedy has been
compounded by indifferent attitude in subsequent years."
He said it was "incumbent on us, morally and legally, to do our utmost to support the surviving victims in every manner possible."
In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar said a pledge should be taken to adopt measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Immediately after these references, both Houses plunged in chaos with Opposition members, including those from NDA, AIADMK and Samajwadi Party, rushing to the well and raising slogans in demand for JPC probe into 2G spectrum allocation.
In the Lok Sabha, the protesting members shouted "We want JPC". Some members were carrying a newspaper clippings which read "SC to Raja: Why did you over-rule PM"?
In the wake of unruly scenes, the House was adjourned till 1200 hours and when similar scenes were repeated, it was adjourned till 1530 hours.
In the Rajya Sabha too, opposition BJP and AIADMK stalled proceedings demanding a JPC to look into the 2G spectrum issue, leading to adjournment of the House till noon and then till 1430 hours.
As soon as the House met for the day, BJP and AIADMK members stormed the well shouting slogans demanding a JPC probe.
Ansari took up the first listed question of the day but members were unrelenting.
The opposition slogan shouting was countered by ruling Congress benches demanding resignation of Karnataka chief minister over alleged illegal mining in the state.
"This is not correct," Ansari said, asking members in the well to go back to their places.
But the members were adamant and kept chanting "We want JPC".
PTI
