New Delhi, July 26
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday after passage of two Bills without discussions amid relentless protests by Opposition members, who raised slogans and showed placards on the Pegasus snooping row and farmers’ issue.
As soon as the House met at 3 pm after repeated adjournments during the day, the Lok Sabha took up the Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021, separately.
Discussion on the two Bills could not take place as Opposition members continued to stage protests demanding a discussion on the Pegasus snooping allegations and the farmers’ demand of repealing the three new agri laws.
Rama Devi, who was chairing the proceedings, repeatedly urged protesting members to return to their seats and participate in the discussions.
However, with protesting MPs not relenting, she went ahead with the consideration and passage of the two bills.
Earlier, the House was adjourned till noon amid sloganeering and protests by the opposition over the three farm laws.
Speaker Om Birla advised the protesters to take to their seats and even offered a debate on the subject.
Question Hour was under way when the House was adjourned.
Later, it was adjourned till 2 pm amid protests by the opposition. When the House met at 2 pm and ran for a few minutes, papers were laid on the table and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
Birla before adjourning the proceedings during Question Hour took a stern stance towards the protesting Opposition.
He said the government wanted to give an answer, and if the opposition wanted an answer, they should go to their place.
He questioned the sloganeering in the House.
The dignity of the House is being tarnished by commotion and sloganeering, he said.
“You ask for answers and then don’t even hear the answers, this is not fair,” the Speaker said.
He told the MPs that people had sent them to the House to raise issues. Instead of raising issues, they were shouting slogans and making a fuss, he said.
This behaviour is not appropriate, the Speaker said, as the opposition continued to protest against the alleged snooping using the Pegasus software and the farm related laws.
Meanwhile, proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were also repeatedly disrupted as Opposition members protested on the phone-tapping and other issues.
The agitated members demanded that the Chair allow the Leader of Opposition to speak and created an uproar, forcing four adjournments.
