Naidu smells 'conspiracy' behind ruckus in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, Aug 1: Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said he sees a "conspiracy" in opposition members agitating and trying to stall the proceedings of upper House.
Naidu's remarks came soon after the House reassembled at 2 p.m after two adjournments and he allowed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Amit Shah to continue with his speech which he was not able to complete on Tuesday due to ruckus by the opposition members.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy raised a point of order and said as per the rules of conduct of the upper House, a member cannot speak twice on the same issue if he fails to complete his speech in the first instance.
But his point of order was rejected by the Chairman.
Naidu said he had given Shah permission to complete his speech and asked him to continue.
As the point of order was rejected, the TMC members trooped near the Chairman's podium and started raising slogans, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come in the House and make a statement on the issue.
Naidu urged the TMC members to go back to their seats and allow Shah to continue.
"It seems a conspiracy ... not letting the House function by creating controversy... You are doing something which is not acceptable in parliamentary system," Naidu said.
But the TMC members did not relent.
As they continued with their protest and sloganeering, Naidu appealed Roy to ask his party members to go back to their seats.
"You create disorder and you raise point of order... There must be some patience to hear the reply," he said.
As Naidu's continuous appeal was not heeded by the agitating TMC members, he said: "This seems to be a system that you spoke, you had your say and now come and disturb the proceedings. You don't want to hear the reply."
As the TMC members continued with their protest and did not even allow Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to speak, Nadu adjourned the House for the day.
"As some of the members are not willing to hear the reply of Home Minister and as they are not ready to relent, I am adjourning the House for the day," Naidu said before adjourning the House.
Earlier, the Congress members were on their feet to register their protest against Shah's remarks made on Tuesday.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked Chairman Naidu to expunge Shah's comments wherein he said "you (Congress) did not have the courage, but we have it to implement the NRC".
Naidu said that he would look into it and expunge any remarks that were found uncalled for.
As the Congress members continued with their protest, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon minutes after it met for the day.
The BJP and the TMC are at loggerheads over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
Shah had claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had the courage to do what the Congress lacked on identifying foreigners.
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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
