Besides chaos, adjournment, what happened in Parliament

LOK SABHA

Noisy protests by the AIADMK on Wednesday stalled the no-confidence motion against the BJP-led NDA government. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan threatened to adjourn the House sine die, saying the members were “wasting” the time of the House. “I am duty bound to bring these no-confidence notices . But how can I if the House is not in the order?” Attacking the opposition, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar held the Congress responsible for the impasse. He said the act of opposition leaders’ to bring placards on Tuesday to display the number of members supporting the no-confidence motion was against the proceedings of the House. Congress leader Mallaikarjun Kharge said 80 people have supported the motion.

RAJYA SABHA

Rajya Sabha failed to conduct any business after bidding farewell to the retiring MPs on Wednesday, with an agitated Congress demanding discussion on the banking fraud under a rule that requires voting. JD(U)‘s Harivansh, and BJP’s Roopa Ganguly and RK Sinha, had given notices for the discussion. However, Congress leader Anand Sharma said MPs from his party, including Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, had also given notices but those hadn’t been accepted without giving any reason. “The Chair must inform the House why our notices are not in order. There can’t be any arbitrariness. We have the right to be informed,” he said. Protesting MPs stormed the Well, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House until April 2.