The debate on the motion to thank President Ram Nath Kovind for his address to the joint session of Parliament began with disruptions on Monday. The motion was not moved in Rajya Sabha due to disruptions over the protests against CAA-NRC-NPR, and in Lok Sabha, the Opposition staged a walkout protestingagainst BJP member Parvesh Varma’s remarks on the protests.

Earlier, Opposition parties and BJP members Subramanian Swamy and Rakesh Sinha moved adjournment motions to debate the protests against the CAA and related issues before taking up any other subject. Chairman Venkaiah Naidu ruled against it. He said since the members can raise those matters during the debate on the motion to thank the President, there was no need for a separate discussion on the protests. The Opposition, however, was not ready to accept it.

Leader of the Opposition, Ghulam Nabi Azad said in House that the rule on adjournment motion is there in the rule book to be used and he did not see any reason for disallowing it by the Chair. Talking to reporters, Deputy Leader of Congress Anand Sharma said the Chairman cannot dictate the members what they should speak on.

The House was adjourned first till 12 pm and then till 2 pm due to disruptions by the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the CPI(M) and the DMK members. They raised slogans such as “ NRC pe Halla Bol ” and stormed to the well of the House. At 2 pm, when the House reassembled, the Opposition members did not allow BJP leader Bhupender Yadav to move the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. Yadav urged Chairman Harivansh to ask Azad whether the Congress wants to run the House or not. Harivansh asked the protesting members to raise their concerns during the debate. But the Opposition members were not ready to accept this proposal. “I have a fundamental issue. We run the House based on rules. There is Rule 267 for discussion. Why there is such a rule in the book if it is not allowed,” Azad asked.

PM should clarify stand

Sharma told reporters that the BJP leaders are attacking Mahatma Gandhi and his memories. “We demand that the Prime Minister comes to the House and makes his position clear,” he said.

In Lok Sabha, the debate went off peacefully, except for a walkout for a brief period by the Opposition. BJP MP Parvesh Verma, who initiated the debate, said the Congress should know that it is not “Rajiv Feroze Khan” government, it is Narendra Modi’s government. “We will not take back the CAA. It is a question of the country’s integrity,” he said.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi demanded that MoS Finance Anurag Thakur should be arrested for his speech against the protestors. “Book the minister under relevant laws,” he said. “In front of the Delhi Police, a boy fired on the people,” he said, and added, “He must have been motivated by someone. I want to know who is pulling the trigger. Is it the minister or the boy,” he wondered.

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