RS adjourned till 3 pm; PM unable to introduce new ministers amid uproar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday could not introduce his newly-inducted union ministers to Rajya Sabha as several slogan-shouting opposition members trooped into the well of the House to protest over various issues.

As soon as the House reassembled at 2:00 pm, there were again uproarious scenes, and the House was adjourned till 3:00 pm by Deputy Rajya Sabha Chairman Harivansh.

Earlier, Chairman M Venkaiaha Naidu had to adjourn proceedings of the House till 2 pm as opposition members, some of them in the Well, kept raising slogans on various issues.

Expressing anguish over the conduct of the protesting opposition members, Modi questioned their mentality behind their behaviour of not allowing him to introduce women, Dalit and scheduled tribe MPs who have been made ministers.

Earlier in the morning, when the House assembled on day one of the Monsoon session, the proceedings were adjourned for an hour as a mark of respect to departed sitting MPs Raghunath Mohapatra and Rajeev Satav.

No sooner did the House meet again at around 12.25 pm, opposition members started raising slogans as the chairman was making his opening remarks about the expectations from the current session amid the Covid pandemic.

Amidst sloganeering, the chairman asked the prime minister to introduce the newly-inducted ministers in the Council of Ministers.

However, the protesting members kept raising slogans.

Modi said that when the new union ministers belonging to rural background and children of the farming community were being introduced to the House, some opposition party members were not happy.

He said a large number of women, Dalit and those belonging to scheduled tribes have been made union ministers, but some opposition members do not want to hear their names and give them the due honour.

"What is this mentality?," he wondered.

The prime minister further said it was for the first time that the House was witnessing "such a mentality".

As the opposition members continued their uproar, Modi laid the list of newly-inducted ministers on the table of the House.

Meanwhile, the Chairman did not allow the 17 notices by different opposition parties to suspend the scheduled business of the house and take up the matters raised by them.

He said it was not feasible to take 17 issues in one go, and assured the members that all the important matters would be taken up in due course of time.

But the assurance did not pacify the opposition members, forcing Naidu to adjourn the House till 2 pm.

The new Leader of the House and Union minister Piyush Goyal said it was a tradition since the times of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that new ministers are introduced to the House.

Goyal condemned the "behaviour" of the opposition members and said such a conduct would be harmful for the democratic traditions of the country.