Rajya Sabha adjourned within minutes of starting

Realising that the same sequence of the Opposition and treasury benches getting into a verbal duel, over the rule under which the Manipur crisis be discussed, will be played out, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the Rajya Sabha on Friday within minutes of the House meeting for the day.

He announced that he has received 47 notices under Rule 267 for suspension of listed business to discuss the Manipur situation and read out the names of the Opposition MPs who had submitted the notices. He said the same issue is being raised everyday though he had given a ruling on July 20, that a short duration discussion be held under Rule 176 and the government has also expressed its willingness to do so.

Dhankhar said in the previous session too, several MPs regularly submitted notices under Rule 267 to discuss various issues when the records clearly show that this rule has rarely been invoked. He said that the nation looks at Question Hour with hope and disrupting it is not fair.


Trinamool's Derek O'Brien tried to raise a demand for holding debate under Rule 267 but the Chair expressed its ire over this becoming a frequent act on his part.

As the Opposition MPs rose on their feet to protest and shouted slogans, Dhankhar adjourned the House till Monday. The coming week is expected to be action-packed as the bill on the Delhi Ordinance as well as the no-confidence motion (in Lok Sabha) moved by Gaurav Gogoi (Congress) is slated to come up.