RS adjourned twice during pre-lunch period; chairman takes umbrage at mimicry by MP outside house

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice during the pre-lunch period on Tuesday after opposition members continued to create uproar in the house while raising the issue of Parliament security breach.

The chairman raised the issue of mimicry of the speaker and the chairman by an MP and the videography of the act, saying this was shameful and there has to be a limit.

The opposition MPs have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach issue and seeking the revocation of the suspension of opposition members in the house.

As many as 46 MPs of the Rajya Sabha have so far been suspended for unruly behaviour and for disrupting the proceedings of the house.

Soon after the house met at noon, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar ticked off senior Congress member Digvijaya Singh for causing disorder and asked him to take his seat.

“I saw some time ago on TV channels… there is no limit to falling. I saw a senior leader of your party videographing the unparliamentary behaviour of another MP. He is even a bigger leader than you. I can only wish for good sense to prevail,” he said, adding, “There must be some limit…At least spare some places.”

“The issue is that the office of chairman of Rajya Sabha and the office of speaker is very different. Political parties will have their cross-currents, they will have exchanges, but imagine a senior leader of your party videographing another member of another party. Mimicry of chairman, mimicry of Speaker… How ridiculous, how shameful, how unacceptable,” the chairman said.

Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan said the MPs come from far away places and they should be allowed to speak. But the chairman asked her to sit.

Soon Digivijaya Singh and another opposition member entered the well of the house and the Chairman adjourned the House till 2 pm, within two minutes of the beginning of proceedings.

Earlier, Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon as a handful of the remaining opposition MPs continued to press for a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach.

The opposition benches wore a deserted look on Tuesday. The Congress had just a few members, including Digvijaya Singh and Deependar Hooda, in attendance while some MPs from the TMC and the DMK were also present.

As the official listed papers were being laid on the table at the start of the proceedings, they rose in their places shouting slogans and demanding that Shah come to the House and give a statement on the security breach.

They also protested against the unprecedented number of MPs being suspended for demanding a statement from the government while the BJP MP who had given the intruders a pass to enter Parliament continued to remain in the House.

Chairman Dhankhar did not allow any one of them to speak and declared that the four notices he had received under rule 267 did not merit admittance. A notice under rule 267 calls for suspension of the business of the day to take up discussion on the issue being raised.