On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha sessions were disrupted as opposition parties continued their protests against the Pegasus surveillance scandal, agriculture regulations, and price hikes.
The House passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, amid the din. The Bill has already been approved by the Lok Sabha.
The Upper House was adjourned three times until the Chair eventually adjourned it for the day, following constant protests by the opposition since the Monsoon session began on July 19 to demand for discussions on Peagasus and farm laws.
The opposition members, on the other hand, did not return to their places, resulting in a constant ruckus in the Raja Sabha.
MPs from the Congress, TMC, and other opposition parties began shouting slogans on Pegasus spying, agriculture legislation, gasoline prices, and other concerns early in the day, as Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu called for the Zero Hour, in which MPs discuss topics of public interest.
They also had placards with them. As some of them attempted to enter the House Well, Naidu issued an order prohibiting the display of placards.
He told the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to make the names of MPs and the matter they wished to raise in Zero Hour public.
This is to give people an idea of the subject that MPs wanted to bring up but were unable to do so due to disruption.
“These things should be made public,” he remarked before adjourning the hearing till 12 p.m.
In the midst of the din, Deputy Chairman Narayana Singh managed to take up all of the questions slated for the Question Hour when the House reassembled at midday.
While members of the opposition stood in the Well chanting slogans in regional languages, the ministers in charge responded to members’ questions amid the chaos.
The Chair urged that the protesting members maintain order in the House, but they refused and continued to shout slogans.
The Chair adjourned the House till 2 p.m. because all of the specified questions had been answered by the concerned ministers.
As soon as the House reopened after lunch, BJP Chair Bhubaneswar Kalita called Irani to move The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, for discussion by the House.
Opposition members continued to raise slogans while the minister briefed the House on the Bill.
“This bill is about children, so please pay attention,” Kalita said.
Despite numerous appeals from the Chair to return to their seats and enable the Bill to pass because it affects children, opposition members refused. The House was then adjourned for half an hour, until 2:45 p.m., by Kalita.
As the House resumed its business, Kalita informed the House that a member who became ill due to high blood pressure during the proceedings was taken to RML hospital and is now fine.
The members on the list were then summoned by Kalita for their participation in the bill’s debate. However, no one showed up for the bill’s discussion.
Some members, including Derek O’Brien of the TMC, demanded a vote split on the bill. Kalita, on the other hand, requested that the members return to their seats first.
When the members refused to listen to the Chair, Kalita requested that Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani introduce the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, for consideration.
The House was then adjourned for the day by Kalita.
According to her, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, proposes to expand the role of district magistrates and additional district magistrates in child care and adoption cases.
When the House reconvened for the day, Naidu stated that Dholavira, a Harappan-era city in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch, had been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s list of World Heritage Sites (UNESCO).
