New Delhi: The issue of NEET paper leak and police crackdown on protesters at Jantar Mantar and neighbouring areas rocked both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.
The government offered an elaborate discussion on the issue and accused the opposition of not allowing a debate by disrupting proceedings.
In the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government is willing to hold a discussion on the NEET paper leak but left it to Speaker Om Birla to arrive at a consensus on the rule under which it will be held, its date and duration.
Birla said he has heard the views of all parties as the government was willing to hold a discussion with an open mind.
Rijiju said Birla should convene an all-party meeting of floor leaders to finalise the rules under which it will be held, its date and duration.
Birla underlined that time will not be a constraint and he will allow all members to speak as much as they want, once they give a notice according to procedures.
As Birla asked Rijiju to make a statement, Congress leader K C Venugopal intervened to assert that the opposition is also seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Our demand is simple. When the entire nation is feeling the pain of our students, all other business of the House should be set aside and this burning issue should be the top priority for Parliament,” Venugopal said.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed anguish that while the BJP and Congress members spoke, he was not allowed to participate.
He said if the interests of youth and students are hurt, the opposition is bound to protest on the streets also.
Later, talking to reporters, Rijiju said the government is ready for a “detailed discussion” as the people should know the steps taken by the government.
He accused the opposition of hitting the streets and not holding a debate in Parliament, and said sensitive issues pertaining to the youth need discussion in Parliament. Street protests will not yield results, he underlined.
Most Congress and SP members were wearing black clothes in the House to protest the NEET paper leak and police crackdown on protesters at Jantar Mantar and other areas on Monday.
Separately, Pradhan met the Lok Sabha speaker in the Parliament House.
The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue and is also seeking the resignation of Pradhan over the handling of the controversy over the alleged examination irregularities.
On Tuesday, the government had said it is willing for a discussion on the paper leak issue and associated movement.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha which saw repeated adjournments after the government accused the opposition led by the Congress of bringing in new conditions to not allow a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue.
“I want to tell the Congress party through you (the Chair), that you (Congress) are giving the wrong message outside that you want a discussion. When the government is itself saying that it wants a discussion, they (Congress) are imposing conditions to not allow a discussion to take place by again and again coming up with excuses,” Rijiju said in the Upper House.
The parliamentary affairs minister said the government is ready to discuss all issues, but the chairman will decide under which rule a debate can happen.
Both DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge appealed to Harivansh, who was in the Chair, to allow a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue to take place under Rule 267, citing the current situation as “rarest of rare”.
Amid the uproar, Hairvansh adjourned the House for the day.
Even though the government agreed to discuss the issue in Parliament, the opposition wanted the discussion to be held under Rule 267, and also laid down the condition of Pradhan’s resignation before such a debate is taken up.
Citing past rulings, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said in the last four decades, Rule 267 has been invoked in the House on the “rarest of the rare occasions”.
Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha enables a member, with the chairman’s consent, to seek suspension of a listed business of the House to take up a matter of urgent public importance.
Earlier, Leader of the House J P Nadda slammed the opposition parties, saying, “The INDI Alliance has indulged in irresponsible behaviour; they are destroying the dignity of Parliament.”
No business has been conducted in the two Houses since the beginning of the Monsoon session on Monday.
Separately, the Lok Sabha passed a resolution suspending TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee for the remainder of the Monsoon session for using “unsavoury” language against women members after he had a heated exchange with Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) members in the Lower House chamber.
The NCPI members involved in the exchange included Mitali Bagh, Shatabdi Roy and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.
It was not clear what led to the heated exchange.
Later, opposition MPs met Birla seeking the withdrawal of Banerjee’s suspension, contending that the alleged altercation for which action was taken had occurred after the House was adjourned and therefore, could not be the basis for disciplinary action under the House rules.
The Monsoon session ends on August 13.
