Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm as Opposition protests over Amit Shah's absence

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm after Opposition MPs protested during Zero Hour, demanding Home Minister Amit Shah`s presence in the House. File pic

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. on Monday following a heated protest by Opposition members during Zero Hour. The members demanded the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in the House, disrupting proceedings and forcing the Chairman to call off the sitting temporarily. As Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan began calling the names of members to raise matters during Zero Hour, Opposition MPs insisted on raising their issue under Rule 267.

The Chairman immediately declined the request, reminding the House that the Chair had repeatedly ruled against entertaining such notices.

Undeterred, the members displayed placards and raised slogans demanding "Grih Mantri Sadan Mein Aao (Home Minister must come to the House)".

Amid the growing ruckus, the Chairman issued a stern warning. He told the protesting members that showing placards amounted to indiscipline and cautioned them not to force the Chair to take action.

He made it clear that he would not permit any member, including the Leader of Opposition, to speak unless order was restored. "Unless you stop displaying placards and stop sloganeering, I will not call even the Leader of Opposition. Go back to your seats. If you do so, I will call him," the Chairman said firmly.

When the protests continued, he adjourned the House till 2 p.m.

Earlier in the day, the Rajya Sabha transacted regular parliamentary business. Members laid papers on the Table of the House. Dr L. Murugan presented papers on behalf of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Tokhan Sahu laid papers related to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Raj Bhushan Choudhary handled papers for the Ministry of Jal Shakti, while Murlidhar Mohol laid papers concerning the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The House also took up statements by ministers on the status of implementation of parliamentary committee recommendations, committee-related business and other reports of different departments related matters.

However, the protest during Zero Hour brought the proceedings to an abrupt halt. The adjournment until 2 p.m. has left the remaining agenda pending, with the focus now shifting to whether order will be restored when the House reassembles in the afternoon.

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