PARLIAMENT WAS adjourned Thursday over DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans against delimitation. Speaker Om Birla cited Rule 349 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, but Opposition MPs said the rule mentioned nothing regarding a dress norm for members. They also pointed out that Congress members had earlier donned black jackets with stickers saying “Modi Adani Ek Hai” to Parliament as part of their protests against Gautam Adani. The repeated adjournments meant that no business was transacted in Parliament Thursday, including the scheduled debate on grants for the agriculture sector in the Lok Sabha, and on the Home Ministry in the Rajya Sabha. Opposition leaders alleged that the government did not want the issue of Punjab farmers – who were forcibly removed from their protest sites late Thursday – to come up in the Lower House. In the Rajya Sabha, they did not want any scrutiny of the Home Ministry headed by Amit Shah, Opposition leaders said. On Thursday, shirts worn by DMK MPs to Parliament had slogans at the back saying “Fair delimitation, Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win”, denouncing a delimitation exercise based on population alone. Other slogans opposed the Centre’s three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP), or referred to the contentious remarks made by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during a recent debate on the NEP. As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled, Speaker Om Birla said that Parliament would not function unless members upheld its dignity and decorum. “The House runs on rules… Rule 349 clearly talks about the decorum that should be followed in the House. If you come inside the House wearing T shirts with slogans written on them and shouting slogans, the House will not function. If you come to the House after taking off these T-shirts, the House will run,” he said, adding that as the presiding officer, it was “my duty to uphold the House’s dignity and respect”. It remains to be seen if the issue of agricultural grants will come up Friday. IN CONTEXT: The conduct of MPs and the procedure through which Parliament operates are outlined in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha. Rule 349 pertains to the “rules to be observed by members in the House”. In a set of 23 points, these rules prescribe a bunch of things. For example, while the House is in session, a member “shall not read any book, newspaper or letter except in connection with the business of the House” or "interrupt any member while speaking by disorderly expression or noises or in any other disorderly manner”. The MPs are expected to bow to the Chair while entering or leaving the House, and should not pass between the Chair and any member who is speaking. They are also prohibited from leaving the House when the Speaker is addressing the House, and maintain silence when not speaking in the House. RSS body meeting The annual baithak (conference) of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the decision making body of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), will be held in Bengaluru’s Channenahalli neighbourhood from Friday. The top decision-making body of the RSS is likely to pass a resolution on the “security of Hindus” in various countries, including Bangladesh. Sources said in the backdrop of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government last year, the Sangh would not only condemn the “attacks on Hindus across the world” but also likely push for a mechanism to protect them. In the recent past, there have also been reports of suspected Khalistani activists targeting Hindu temples and devotees in Canada. The ABPS is expected to pass a resolution on at least “two issues of national importance”, according to Sangh insiders. It is not yet clear what the other issue may be. Sources said this being the centenary year of the RSS, the other resolution might focus on issues the Sangh needs to tackle going forward. According to the RSS, the meeting will discuss issues associated with “Hindu awakening” and conduct “an analysis of the current scenario of the country”. The ABPS baithak is the most important meeting of the RSS where all its top leaders, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat and second-in-command Dattatreya Hosabale, will be present. The BJP president, apart from other senior party leaders, also attends the meeting. Issues discussed and decisions taken at the meeting not only set the direction for the Sangh for the following year but also signal to the government what the RSS wants implemented at the policy level. - WITH PTI INPUTS
