Oppostion forces Chair to reconsider decision on naming members

NEW DELHI: A united Oppostion in the Rajya Sabha today forced the Chair to reconsider the decision to name 22 members in a House bulletin for "gross disorderly conduct", over which the House witnessed a major uproar.

When the House met at 2 PM after three adjournments, not a single BJP member was present.

At this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath requested P J Kurien, who was in the Chair, to "consider the matter" so that the Opposition relents and comes back.

"This is a new practice (naming members in the House Bulletin for disrupting proceedings)," he said.

Kurien responded positively saying," The matter will be reconsidered."

He also asked the Opposition to come back to the House. "Opposition is as important as the Government in parliamentary democracy...It is not a democratic practice to run Parliament without the Opposition," he said.

Following this, BJP members escorted by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla returned to the House and the proceedings resumed.

The House then took up the debate on Companies Bill. Earlier, on naming of 22 members, including two from TDP, in a House bulletin for trooping into the Well, Rajya Sabha today witnessed strong protests with BJP members staging a walk out and staying away during Zero hour.