Lok Sabha drowned in din
Slogan shouting on even when Minister announced death of Indians in Iraq
The Lok Sabha was adjourned soon after noon on Tuesday, with Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressing concern at the shouting of slogans even when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was making a statement on the death of 39 Indians who had long been untraced in Iraq.
The Speaker said notices for no-confidence motion were received from Thota Narasimham (Telugu Desam Party) and Y.V. Subba Reddy (YSR Congress Party), but she could not proceed on them unless the House was in order.
She finally adjourned the House a little after noon, without transacting any business yet again. The Lok Sabha has been disrupted since March 5, when it met for the second half of the Budget session.
Earlier, the House was first adjourned till noon soon after it met at 11 a.m. because of protests by Opposition parties.
Later, the Telugu Rashtra Samiti and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazahgam protested in the well of the House, the former for an increased quantum of reservation and the latter for the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board.
Members of the Congress, the CPI(M), the Samajwadi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the TDP stood up at their seats.
‘Serious issue’
The Speaker urged the members to maintain order as Ms. Swaraj wanted to inform the House about a “serious” issue. At this moment, the Congress and Left members started raising slogans such as “no no”, drowning the voice of Ms. Swaraj.
“She wants to inform the House about the 39 Indians killed in Iraq. Please listen to her,” the Speaker said.
Ms. Swaraj said she now had confirmed evidence of the deaths of 39 Indians, abducted by the Islamic State in Iraq, as DNA samples had matched. She said she was making this statement in the Lok Sabha after doing so in the Rajya Sabha. She requested that protesting members to hear her.
However, the House was not in order and Ms. Swaraj said she could not speak amid the din.
The Speaker said this was perhaps the first time in the history of Parliament that not even such an important statement could be made.
She wondered if politics had washed out all humanity and sensitivity.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen member Asaduddin Owaisi and Mohammad Salim of the CPI(M) gestured towards the AIADMK and TRS members in the well of the House. The Speaker then adjourned the House for the day.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned soon after noon on Tuesday, with Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressing concern at the shouting of slogans even when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was making a statement on the death of 39 Indians who had long been untraced in Iraq.
The Speaker said notices for no-confidence motion were received from Thota Narasimham (Telugu Desam Party) and Y.V. Subba Reddy (YSR Congress Party), but she could not proceed on them unless the House was in order.
She finally adjourned the House a little after noon, without transacting any business yet again. The Lok Sabha has been disrupted since March 5, when it met for the second half of the Budget session.
Earlier, the House was first adjourned till noon soon after it met at 11 a.m. because of protests by Opposition parties.
Later, the Telugu Rashtra Samiti and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazahgam protested in the well of the House, the former for an increased quantum of reservation and the latter for the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board.
Members of the Congress, the CPI(M), the Samajwadi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the TDP stood up at their seats.
‘Serious issue’
The Speaker urged the members to maintain order as Ms. Swaraj wanted to inform the House about a “serious” issue. At this moment, the Congress and Left members started raising slogans such as “no no”, drowning the voice of Ms. Swaraj.
“She wants to inform the House about the 39 Indians killed in Iraq. Please listen to her,” the Speaker said.
Ms. Swaraj said she now had confirmed evidence of the deaths of 39 Indians, abducted by the Islamic State in Iraq, as DNA samples had matched. She said she was making this statement in the Lok Sabha after doing so in the Rajya Sabha. She requested that protesting members to hear her.
However, the House was not in order and Ms. Swaraj said she could not speak amid the din.
The Speaker said this was perhaps the first time in the history of Parliament that not even such an important statement could be made.
She wondered if politics had washed out all humanity and sensitivity.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen member Asaduddin Owaisi and Mohammad Salim of the CPI(M) gestured towards the AIADMK and TRS members in the well of the House. The Speaker then adjourned the House for the day.