Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon over Karnataka crisis

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.

-PTI

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