Nadda slams Opposition for walkout during Jaishankar's statement
New Delhi (PTI): Union Minister J P Nadda on Monday accused the Opposition of indulging in petty politics and creating anarchy after the Congress and other Opposition parties sought to disrupt Rajya Sabha proceedings and staged a walkout when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a suo motu statement on the situation in West Asia.
Soon after, the House met for the day, Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan read out the obituary references and allowed the laying of listed papers. He then asked Jaishankar to make the statement on West Asia.
However, Congress President and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge opposed this and demanded that there should be a full-fledged discussion on the situation in West Asia before such a statement is made by the minister.
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After being permitted by the Chair, Kharge said the escalation in the West Asia conflict will affect the country's economic stability and endanger the security and livelihood of Indian citizens working there.
"I request a short-duration discussion on emerging challenges for energy security and the fast-changing geopolitical situation in West Asia affecting India's energy security," Kharge said.
The Chairman told Kharge he would come back to him, and again asked Jaishankar to continue with his statement.
As the minister started making the statement, MPs belonging to the Congress and other Opposition parties were on their feet and insisted that Kharge be allowed to complete his remarks. They also raised slogans and demanded that a short discussion be allowed to which the minister should reply.
Later, the entire Opposition staged a walkout from the House while the minister was making his statement.
After Jaishankar's statement, Leader of the House J P Nadda termed the Opposition's behaviour as "irresponsible" and said they only want to create "anarchy and hooliganism".
"It is with great regret that I must say that the opposition's behaviour is highly irresponsible and reprehensible. They have absolutely no interest in the country or in debates in Parliament. Their sole aim is to create chaos. In Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition is giving speeches on issues other than the main topic," Nadda said.
The minister reminded the House that Opposition parties staged walkouts during government replies on important discussions like SIR, Viksit Bharat, Operation Sindoor, the Waqf Bill, as well as on the Union Budget.
"The Opposition's interest lies in advancing their petty politics, but under the respected leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this will never be possible. They will keep diminishing while sitting in the Opposition and eventually come to an end," Nadda said.
Kharge earlier said the West Asia conflict is now directly impacting the country's economic stability.
Importantly, about one crore Indians work in the region, and there are reports of some Indians being killed or missing in the ongoing conflict, he said.
"India received about USD 51 billion in remittances from Gulf countries," the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said.
He also raised the issue of increase in LPG cylinder prices which were affecting the common people.
The house also congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the T20 Cricket World Cup.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
