New Delhi, July 25 (Bureau) The proceedings of Rajya Sabha were once again disrupted on Monday till 3 pm amid uproar by Opposition MPs over price rise, misuse of central agencies, hike in GST and other issues. The notices given by Opposition members under Rule 267 to suspend the business and discuss the issues were not admitted by the Chairman leading to uproar and sloganeering by them. As per the order of the day, Deputy Chairman Harivansh tried to take up the calling attention motion by NCP MP Fouzia Khan on ‘The situation arising out of rising cases of post Covid 19 complications’. When called, Khan began speaking over price rise saying the issue is more important. She was immediately disallowed by the Chair. “We have given notices under Rule 267 to discuss the issue of price rise.
This is a big issue for us. Why is the government running away from discussion over the issue,” said Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge. The government said that any discussion on price rise or GST should be conducted in presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who has been battling against Covid-19. “We want discussion over the issue. Let Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman get well and come to the House. The Opposition is rather running away from debate over the issue,” said Union Minister Piyush Goyal. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien said that in the past five years, the notice under Rule 267 has not been admitted even once in the House.
The Deputy Chairman said he is only informing the members about the decision taken by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu. As per the statistics, Rajya Sabha reported productivity of only 26.90 per cent during the first week of the Monsoon Session that began on July 18. The House transacted business only for one hour 16 minutes during the first three days of the week while it improved to 5 hours 31 minutes during the last two days. A total of 18 hours 44 minutes of the scheduled sitting time of the House was lost due to disruptions and forced adjournments. In order to facilitate the members to attend the swearing in ceremony of newly elected President Droupadi Murmu in the morning, it was decided that the House will meet at 2 pm on Monday instead of the usual 11 am every working day.