RS to continue debate on President''s address after stoppage over MP’s death

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 25

The Rajya Sabha will resume its day’s business at 2 pm after a brief three-hour adjournment as a mark of respect for deceased BJP member Madan Lal Saini.

The decision was taken at a meeting of floor leaders of the Rajya Sabha which Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had called to decide on whether to hold a sitting on Tuesday given the passing away of Madan Lal Saini, the Rajasthan BJP chief, at the AIIMS on Monday.

In the event of the death of a sitting MP the convention is to adjourn the house after obituary reference by the chair.
But there has been a recent break from convention though when on February 1, 2017, then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan after making an obituary reference to sitting MP E Ahamad, who died the same morning, cited the government’s constitutional duties to carry on with the scheduled presentation of the Union Budget. The Lok Sabha was adjourned on February 2, 2017 to pay respect to the leader.

Sources said there was an urgency of sorts at hand to hold a house sitting on Tuesday as the ongoing debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address is to be concluded in time for the scheduled reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 2 pm on Wednesday. 

The PM has to leave for Japan on Wednesday night for the G20 summit and if the House doesn’t sit on Tuesday the reply would have to deferred.

“So far, only one-fourth of the parties have participated in the debate. The PM is scheduled to leave for Japan for the G20 summit day on Wednesday night and there’s this issue of concluding the debate for the PM’s reply which is scheduled for 2 pm on Wednesday. The debate will conclude only if the House sits on Tuesday. The government wants to complete the business in time for the PM’s reply,” a Rajya Sabha source said.