Voice being muzzled: Oppn
BOYCOTTS RS Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad asserted Parliament works according to ‘rules, regulations’, not ‘one’s whims’
NEW DELHI: The Opposition on Tuesday boycotted the Rajya Sabha in the post-lunch session, complaining that its voice was being muzzled inside as well as outside Parliament.
As soon as the House met at 2pm, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad raised the issue of the House being adjourned without conducting the Zero Hour and the Question Hour for the past few days. He asserted that Parliament works according to “rules, regulations, procedures and conventions” and not “one’s whims”.
Azad was joined by other opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party’s Naresh Agarwal, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien and Communist Party of India-Marxist’s Tapan Sen in the protest. Deputy chairman PJ Kurien said the chairman’s decisions could not be questioned and the aggrieved members may meet the chairman in his chamber.
At this, an enraged Azad announced that the Opposition was boycotting the House for the day and the leaders walked out. Kurien adjourned the House till 3pm. In the morning, Derek O’Brien had given a notice under Rule 267 to discuss the alleged overreach of West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi in trying to bypass the state government in administrative matters.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected the notice and when O’Brien persisted with the matter during the Zero Hour, Naidu adjourned the House till 2pm, skipping even the Question Hour that is held from 12 noon to 1 pm.
The TMC leader had tweeted: “Murder of democracy. Opposition being muzzled in Rajya Sabha #Parliament. We are not even being allowed to raise issues in Zero Hour. We will not put up with this.” Outside the House, opposition leaders told media that an attempt was being made to stifle their voice.