Congress derails RS proceedings over pvt member Bill on AP

New Delhi, July 25

Opposition Congress disrupted proceedings in Rajya Sabha on Monday as it demanded that the House take up of a private member Bill on special package for Andhra Pradesh, forcing an early adjournment.

The House could not function after lunch as the strident Congress trooped into Well of the House for their demands.

The Bill, which was to be moved by Congress member KVP Ramchandra Rao on last Friday during Private Member business, could not be taken up on that day as the House was adjourned due to ruckus over AAP MP Bhagwant Mann's controversial filming of Parliament.

Deputy Leader of Congress Anand Sharma accused the ruling party and its Cabinet of not allowing the House to function on Friday so the Bill was not taken up.

"What happened on Friday was by design. It was planned by the government to disrupt the proceedings," Sharma said.

He made it clear that the opposition party would not be willing to discuss anything else until the Bill was taken up.

That day (Friday), they were shouting vociferously. Today, they have lost their voice. We cannot allow government business to be taken up (unless the private member bill is taken up)."

The Congress party, he said, was not coming in the way of government business but registering its protest over the way an important bill was scuttled.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the Bill can be taken up only on August 5 as, according to practice, private Bills and resolutions are taken up on alternate Fridays.

"It is my ruling that the Bill will not be taken up today for discussion," he said.

Congress members repeatedly trooped into Well of the House, shouting, "Andhra wants justice", forcing Kurien to adjourn the House twice briefly before finally adjourning the House for the day minutes after 3 pm. — PTI