Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon over Karnataka crisis
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha proceedings were Tuesday adjourned for an hour after uproar by opposition Congress over developments in Karnataka that have threatened survival of the party's coalition government in the state.
Congress members stormed into the well of the House shouting slogans against the ruling BJP, which it has blamed for instigating a rebellion within the Congress-JD-S government in Karnataka.
The year-old Congress-Janata Dal (S) coalition government in Karnataka is on the brink of collapse after a spate of resignations by MLAs. The Karnataka Assembly has 225 members, including one nominated MLA. The halfway mark in the 225-member Assembly is 113.
TMC members too trooped into the well over some issue concerning West Bengal, forcing Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn proceedings till 1200 hours.
This is the first adjournment that Rajya Sabha has witnessed since Parliament met for the maiden session of the Modi-2.0 government.
Naidu said he has received a notice under rule 267 from Congress member B K Hariprasad, seeking suspension of the listed business to take up the Karanataka issue.
"I am not allowing it," he said, promoting Congress members to rush to the well shouting slogans.
Naidu also said he has received a notice under rule 267 from Dola Singh of TMC but it cannot be allowed as the same had been raised through a Zero Hour mention on June 21, the first day of the session.
TMC members trooped into the well but the issue they were raising could not be heard.
On June 21, one of the issues raised during the Zero Hour was delay by the Centre in according ST status to 11 communities recommended by the West Bengal government.
"As per rules, you cannot discuss the same issues twice in the same session," Naidu said, adding the House had functioned without disruption for 13 days but now it seems members were determined to disrupt.
"If you have decided to disrupt, I adjourn proceedings till 1200 hrs," he said.
Earlier, BJP leader Lokhandwala Jugalsinh Mathurji, who was elected to the Upper House from Gujarat in the by-polls last week, took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
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Kharge expresses regret over 'illiterate' remark, says he has highest of respect for Gujaratis
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over his controversial statement calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate", and said he has always had and will continue to have the highest of respect for the people of the state.
In a post on X, the Congress president said, "Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted. Even so, I express my sincere regret.
"It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect."
Kharge on Sunday had sparked a row during his Assembly poll campaign in Kerala, calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate" and claiming they were being "fooled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the same time, Kharge said neither Modi nor Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could fool the people of Kerala, describing them as "very clever and educated".
"Don’t misguide the people of Kerala. They are very clever and educated. Modiji, Vijayan, you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places, but you cannot fool the people of Kerala," the Congress chief had said.
He made the remark while alleging that both Modi and Vijayan were following the same path, with no difference between them except the parties they lead.
The BJP on Tuesday had demanded an apology from Kharge for his remarks, saying that the comment was "shameless, demeaning and utterly despicable."
Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to clarify whether they agreed with Kharge's statement.
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