Ruckus Over Rafale Deal in Parliament, Both Houses Adjourned

The Congress reiterated the party’s demand for a JPC probe into the 36 ready-to-fly Rafale fighter jets deal with France, in the Lower House.

Image for representational use only; Image courtesy : The Financial Express

Both the houses of the Parliament – Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha – were adjourned on Wednesday amid ruckus on a number of issues including Rafale deal.

While the Lower House was adjourned till 12 pm, Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu adjourned the Upper House for the day.

As the proceedings in the Upper House began, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said Congress member Anand Sharma had wrongly presented his (Goel's) statement on Tuesday in order to disrupt the House, and urged the Chair to correct the record of the earlier proceedings.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said he would look at the records to "verify" the claims.

The Congress MPs trooped to the Chair's podium raising slogans. The party has already been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale fighter jet deal.

On the other hand, Lok Sabha too was adjourned till 12 pm on Wednesday after the opposition created ruckus over different issues including the Rafale deal.

As soon as the House met, the Congress, AIADMK and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members trooped near the Speaker's podium, and started sloganeering.

The Congress reiterated the party’s demand for a JPC probe into the 36 ready-to-fly Rafale fighter jets deal with France, while the AIADMK members wanted Karnataka to take back its proposal to construct a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekadatu.

The TDP raised several issues related to their demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh.

Amid the din, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to conduct the Question Hour. But her attempts failed as the disruptions continued.