-Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Tried to Convince Opposition MPs, but Invain
-Opposition MPs Demand Debate on (SIR Bihar ) Revision of the Voter lists in Bihar
New Delhi : Today is the fourth day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Even today, the proceedings of the Question Hour did not take place in the lower house of the Parliament, i.e. Lok Sabha. For the fourth consecutive day, the Parliament had to be adjourned till 2:00 pm due to the uproar and sloganeering of the opposition. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla tried to convince the opposition MPs, but the opposition kept raising slogans in the well of the House and kept demanding a debate on the revision of the voter list in Bihar. The Speaker assured them of giving them a chance to raise the issues as per the rules after the Question Hour, but the opposition MPs did not agree to accept. Today, only one question related to the Petroleum Ministry could be asked in the Question Hour.
Question Hour in Lok Sabha had to be adjourned as soon as a question was asked on the fourth day of the monsoon session. The opposition MPs stood around the Parliament Reporters Table with play cards and kept raising slogans continuously. Lok Sabha Speaker Birla announced the start of the Question Hour and invited MP Kode Visheshar Reddy to ask questions. Mr. Reddy asked questions related to the Petroleum Ministry. He wanted to know what steps the Central Government is taking for the expansion of alternative energy i.e. CNG and PNG in the country. In this matter, what kind of network can be established in the country at present by the central govt.
Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who was present in the Question Hour of Lok Sabha, said in his reply that the Petroleum Ministry is constantly engaged in strengthening the necessary infrastructure to promote alternative energy. He said that today PNG connections have been given in 96% of the area in the country. He said that in the previous years about 25 lakh PNG connections were given, whereas at present a total of 1.5 cr connections have been given so far. Meanwhile, opposition MPs came to the Well of the House and kept creating ruckus.
Amidst the uproar of the opposition MPs, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that apart from PNG, CNG, the central government is also trying to make alternative energy like CGD, and CBG i.e. biogas easily available.
The Lok Sabha Speaker was giving permission to ask questions in the Question Hour, but the opposition MPs remained adamant on their points and kept raising slogans. Speaker Om Birla, while addressing Congress MP K. Venugopal, asked whether the Congress Party teaches its MPs to come to Parliament with play cards. He said that the MPs of such an old party, whose history has been in dignity and which has contributed a lot in taking the parliamentary tradition forward, are behaving more decently in Parliament today.
He said that it is not in accordance with parliamentary dignity that they disrupt the question hour and come to the Lok Sabha with play cards. He said that India is the largest democratic country in the world and other democratic countries of the world have to learn by looking at the proceedings of the Indian Parliament. But seeing this more dignified and parliamentary conduct of the opposition MPs will send a wrong message to the world. He asked whether his party teaches MPs to hit the table.
The Lok Sabha Speaker taught the opposition MPs to maintain dignity in Parliament and to behave in a way that strengthens democracy. He said that during the Question Hour in Parliament, MPs ask questions to the Central Government regarding the expectations and aspirations of the people. He repeatedly appealed to the opposition MPs to go to their seats but the opposition MPs remained in the well of the House and kept waving play cards in front of the Union Petroleum Minister. The Lok Sabha Speaker said that after the Question Hour, according to the rules, they would be allowed to raise any issue, but the opposition ignored their words and the uproar continued.
Finally, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings of the Parliament till 2:00 pm.