Opposition unlikely to relent on Sadhvi row as PM Narendra Modi heads to Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: The stalemate in Rajya Sabha over the hate speech by Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti is expected to continue with the opposition appearing to be in no mood to relent on its demand for her ouster even as the government appealed to it to not disrupt proceedings when the Prime Minister comes to the Upper House tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the Prime Minister's day in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu appealed to the opposition to not disrupt it, saying they can talk out and walk out but "let there be no break out".

The appeal by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister comes as Rajya Sabha witnessed a virtual wash-out of its proceedings on the second day today amidst no immediate signs of a breakthrough in the impasse with the government having rejected calls for Jyoti to resign from her post.

"The question does not arise at all. There is no question of the minister resigning at all," Naidu told reporters while also ruling out any apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the row.

Hitting out at the government for causing disruptions in parliamentary proceedings, Naidu charged that it was not behaving responsibly. He said that though the BJP and its allies had won a massive majority, the opposition is not allowing the House to run.

"They are decimated there but united here," he said, adding that if opposition parties were so agitated, they should go to police and file a complaint over the remarks by Jyoti.

Seeking to counter Congress, Naidu claimed that leaders like Beni Prasad Verma of the rival party had spoken indecorously about Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee but had never apologised for it.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ashwani Kumar said that "unless the Prime Minister assures us that he will take action against her (Jyoti), we will not stay quiet". The opposition is seeking to corner the government over the issue as the NDA dispensation does not have a majority in the Upper House.