Opposition forces adjournments in Rajya Sabha on Manipur; government gets bills passed

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to press for its demand that a discussion under Rule 267 be held and Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in the House on the issue. Though Zero and Question Hour could not be held, the government got the Data Protection Bill and other legislative business done after the Opposition staged a walkout. In the first half, after paying respects to those who had contributed to the Quit India movement, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar invited Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to express his views on breaking the logjam.

However, Kharge expressed his ire over the arrest of Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, that too on the anniversary of the Quit India movement. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal reiterated the government's stand that a discussion be held under Rule 176. A total of 14 political parties have written to Chairman Dhankhar seeking a breach of privilege motion against Goyal for his remarks against Rahul Gandhi and Congress.

As the protests intensified, Dhankhar adjourned the House till 2 PM. When the proceedings resumed, Kharge said the prime minister should come to the House and break his silence on the situation in Manipur. He repeated the words spoken by Gandhi in the Lok Sabha a few minutes earlier that those who talk of uniting India (the NDA government) have divided Manipur.

Goyal charged the Opposition with insulting the Chairman and stalling Parliament work by filing the same notice every day. At 3:15 pm Chairman Dhankhar tried to take up legislative business, but the Opposition pressed for a discussion on Manipur. When the Chair declined, the Opposition staged a walkout while the Treasury benches and neutral parties participated in the legislative business.