Rajya Sabha Adjourned till Dec 16 as Stand-off Continues

NEW DELHI:
The Rajya Sabha was on Friday adjourned till December 16 amid the continuing standoff between the treasury benches and the Opposition over the no-trust notice against Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

As the Opposition stuck to its demand related to the no-trust notice, BJP MPs raised the issue of the alleged relationship between former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and US billionaire George Soros, sparking noisy exchanges.

With little hope of normalcy returning to the House, the Chair adjourned the proceedings till Monday.

On Thursday, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and Union Minister J. P. Nadda strongly condemned Congress and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge for “demeaning” and “derogating” Constitutional positions and “questioning the Chair.”

Nadda emphasised that the “Chair cannot be questioned, with regard to admissibility, and the Chairman’s ruling cannot be questioned or criticised. To do so is contempt of the House and the Chairman.”

During his speech, Opposition MPs continued sloganeering.

Expressing his disappointment, Nadda said, “With sadness, I must say that yesterday, one of the most senior and experienced leaders, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, conducted a press conference and criticised the Chair. This is condemnable and objectionable. It paves the way for a wrong tradition. Any amount of condemnation would not be enough for this.”

A day earlier, Kharge, along with INDIA bloc leaders, launched a scathing attack on Chairman Dhankhar, blaming him for the repeated stalling of the House due to his “headmaster-type attitude” and treating “Parliament like a school.”

In a joint press conference with Congress and its allies, Kharge made serious accusations against Vice President Dhankhar, stating, “The biggest disruptor of the House is the Chairman himself.”

Kharge accused the Rajya Sabha Chairman of partisan conduct, alleging that he often acted as a “spokesperson of the ruling party.”