Note ruckus stalls Houses again
Opp. demands PM speech on demonetisation, but govt non-committal
Tempers soared in the Opposition benches in both Houses of Parliament as Monday witnessed another washout in the proceedings with the government remaining non-committal about its persistent demand for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence in the Upper House to discuss the demonetisation issue.
The Opposition created a din in both the Houses on the matter, as a result of which the Lok Sabha could not function for the third straight working day as the Opposition parties insisted on Adjournment Motion on demonetisation and a debate under a rule that entails voting.
The Rajya Sabha, which saw a day-long inconclusive debate on demonetisation on the opening day of the Winter Session on November 16, has also failed to transact any business since then as the Opposition has
been pressing for presence of the PM for resumption of the discussion.
On Monday, the Opposition in the Upper House added another dimension by asserting that no discussion on the demonetisation issue would take place till the House adopts a resolution mourning the death of nearly 70 people allegedly due to hardships caused after scrapping of notes of `500 and `1,000 denominations. Among those pressing for the resolution were Congress, BSP, TMC and CPI(M). Leader of the House and finance minister Arun Jaitley accused the Opposition of running away from the demonetisation debate.
“Merits and demerits will come out in a debate... Why are they (Opposition parties) running away from debate? This is clear now that the Opposition is not ready for a debate and is coming up with new excuses to disrupt the House,” he said, amid slogan shouting by the Opposition members who were in the well of the House. Stating that the notice for suspension of the business under Rule 267 was accepted on the first day of the Winter Session and a debate had started, Mr Jaitley said the reported deaths could come up during the course of this debate and the reply to it. The House was adjourned repeatedly even as the government side, including minister of state for Parliamentary affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, continued to question the Opposition’s behaviour.
“The sense of the country is against the black money. Sense of the country is in favour of PM Modi and against those opposing the demonetisation,” Mr Naqvi said.