New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha witnessed a stormy start to the session on Thursday, with government and Opposition getting into verbal confrontation over denial of permission to Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi to speak in the Lok Sabha and also over attempts to stall Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.

Lok Sabha was adjourned moments after reconvening on Thursday, following which the Upper House witnessed noisy scenes and uproar with Opposition accusing the government of gagging the Leader of Opposition. This invited strong counters from Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha J.P. Nadda and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Rijiju condemned the Opposition’s conduct and schooled the members on following Parliamentary protocols.

“Today we all are expecting that all MPs will follow rules and traditions of the House. All the Parliamentarians are waiting to hear the Prime Minister’s speech today. Congress doesn’t want to listen to the PM’s address, but all other members do. Your LoP Lok Sabha doesn’t follow the House rules,” Rijiju told the House.

Mallikarjun Kharge took strong objections to ‘humiliation’ of late Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi by BJP lawmakers, apparently referring to citations from controversial books, and insisted that Rahul Gandhi be given a chance to speak in the House.

“Parliament means Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The LoP, Lok Sabha, wanted to speak on the country’s interests, but was not allowed to speak. How can you run the House like this?” Kharge said.

J.P. Nadda, turning the tables on the Opposition, said, “The LoP should know that the proceedings of the Lok Sabha cannot be discussed in the Rajya Sabha.”

While the leaders engaged in fierce arguments, uproar prevailed in the House with Opposition members resorting to slogan-shouting.

Earlier, the INDIA bloc floor leaders held a meeting inside the Parliament House to deliberate on their strategy on cornering the government.

–IANS

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