New Delhi: Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day on Monday following uproarious scenes by opposition Congress members, who demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Earlier, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed brief adjournments on the same issue. The issue was raised for the second day in the Rajya Sabha. The agitating members in both the Houses trooped into the well of the houses forcing their adjournment.
In the Lok Sabha, the issue was raised by Mallikarjun Kharge during the Question Hour. In the Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma of the Congress raised it as soon as the House met for the day.
Members from the Congress and the Left, who also souwght to raise certain issues, trooped into the Well during the Zero Hour. Amid the uproar by the Opposition, five Bills were introduced after the papers listed for the day were laid. Various standing committee reports and statements by ministers were also tabled.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Supplementary Demand for Grants—Second Batch for 2017-18.
Congress members raised slogans against the Prime Minister and demanded an apology for his remarks against Singh. Left mwembers were trying to raise certain issues which could not be heard in the din. As the protests continued, speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the proceedings for the day.
The five Bills which were introduced are the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, the Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill and the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill.
Earlier, soon after the House assembled for the day, the proceedings were adjourned till noon following noisy scenes amid sloganeering from both sides of the House. While BJP members raised slogans hailing the Prime Minister and the party, the opposition raked up the remarks made by him against Singh.
Some other opposition members raised the issue of floods in Odisha. As soon as the House met, Mahajan referred to the deat`h of people in a boat accident in Andhra Pradesh, the devastation caused by the Ockhi cyclone, earthquakes in Mexico and Iran-Iraq border and terror attacks in various parts of the world, including the US, the UK, Afghanistan and Egypt. The Speaker also congratulated Indian men's and women's hockey teams, boxer Mary Kom and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu for their "outstanding achievements" as well as wished them success. When the House met for the day, it stood in silence in the memory of the departed souls.