‘Rigid stance’: RS Chairman Dhankhar’s meeting with ministers, Oppn leaders fails to break House impasse

MPs from both the Opposition and Treasure benches continued to engage in an intense verbal duel over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'democracy in danger' remark in the UK, and a demand for a JPC to probe allegations against the Adani Group.

jagdeep dhankhar, rajya sabha, opposition meeting, parliament

Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar during a meeting of floor leaders of all parties to deliberate on ensuring smooth and orderly functioning of the House, in New Delhi, Thursday, March 23. (PTI)

Despite Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar holding a meeting with floor leaders of various political parties before the start of the session, the pre-lunch proceedings Thursday morning were adjourned within 18 minutes of the House convening.

The MPs from both sides—the ruling BJP as well as the Opposition benches—continued to engage in an intense verbal duel over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘democracy in danger’ remark in the UK, and a demand for a JPC to probe allegations against the Adani Group.

The two sides have taken a “rigid stance” and the House is not sending a good message to the people, Dhankhar said before adjourning the proceedings till 2 pm. Earlier, Dhankhar rejected 12 notices under Rule 267, seeking discussion on the allegations against the Adani Group by setting aside the business of the day.

Ahead of the proceedings, as the Rajya Sabha met after a break of two days, Chairman Dhankhar had convened a meeting of floor leaders, aiming to hold consultations and break the logjam between the BJP and the Opposition parties.

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The meeting began at 10 am in Dhankar’s chamber to deliberate on securing the orderly functioning of Rajya Sabha. Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and V Muraleedharan are said to have attended the meeting.

Ahead of the meeting, Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge had also said, “I am going to the meeting. We will see what Chairman (Jagdeep Dhankhar) will say (in the meeting)”.

Before that, several leaders from Opposition parties had met separately at Kharge’s office in Parliament.

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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