Logjam continues in Parliament, Budget Session ends today

On Thursday, penultimate day of Budget session, the protest in Rajya Sabha was led by TDP Parliamentary Party leader Y S Choudhary and C M Ramesh. Ramesh told reporters, “…marshals pulled us out of the out in a rude way and injured us…It is an insult to people of AP… We will take this seriously and begin our agitations from tomorrow.”
MP Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao was shifted to hospital after his blood pressure dropped, TDP leaders said.

Earlier, the government’s attempt to push through Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013 failed amid protests by the Opposition members.

When the House met, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu corrected House records to state that the Bill to amend Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, has not been passed by Lok Sabha yet. This happened after TMC’s Sukhendu Shekhar Ray raised the issue through a point of order, saying Deputy Chairman P J Kurien should recall his statement Wednesday that the Bill he has allowed the minister to move has been passed by Lok Sabha.

Later, Opposition MPs continued to protest despite Kurien’s repeated pleas to allow a division on the Bill.
MoS, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh said those disrupting the House do not “wish to proceed against corruption”.

Congress leader Anand Sharma hit back, alleging that the government does not want corruption to be exposed.
Meanwhile, five MPs of YSR Congress Party announced that they will resign from Lok Sabha Friday to protest NDA government’s “failure” to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh.

In Lok Sabha, AIADMK members demanding constitution of Cauvery Water Management Board gathered in Well before proceedings began. They created a din when Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to take up notices for a no-confidence motion.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Congress and all opposition parties are ready to discuss no-confidence motion, Dalit issues, farmers’ issues, and that of Nirav Modi…,” and requested the Speaker, “kindly allow us to move the no-confidence motion…”

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said Congress and its leadership were responsible for the logjam.
Mahajan said, “Unless the House is in order, I will not be in a position to count the 50 Members who have to stand in their assigned places so that I can ascertain as to whether the leave has been granted or not”. As the sloganeering continued, she said, “Since the House is not in order, I will not be able to bring the notice before the House”. Thereafter, she adjourned the House.