NRC row: Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha was today adjourned till noon as Congress members created an uproar, insisting on removal from House records certain remarks made by BJP MP Amit Shah in connection with the Assam National Register of Citizens.

Soon after scheduled papers were laid on the table of the House, senior Congress MP Anand Sharma raised a point of order and insisted on removal of certain comments made by Shah yesterday in the Upper House. Several other Congress members were up on their feet to support Sharma.

Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad too said that the record of proceedings of the House must be looked into. Sharma said Shah, during his speech on the NRC debate, had termed all prime ministers in office after late Rajiv Gandhi as “buzdil’ (cowards).

In an apparent jibe on the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party, he said one of the prime ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee belonged to the BJP. Chairman Naidu assured Sharma that he would go through the records and called Shah to resume his statement, which he could not complete yesterday as the House was adjourned midway due to uproar.

As Shah rose to continue his statement, there were protest from Congress and some other opposition MPs too joined them. Naidu said it seems some members are “not interested” in the discussion and warned Sharma that he would be named.

The Congress MP said he would go out of the House. To this, Naidu said, “You go”. However, Sharma stood up only to resume his seat. As some opposition members were still on their feet, Naidu adjourned the House till Noon.

A controversy has erupted after publication of the Assam National Register of Citizen (NRC) wherein names about 40 lakh people have been excluded. Earlier, Naidu advised members to maintain decorum and cooperate for orderly function of the House.

The Chairman stressed on discipline in the House. He further said that the Chairman has powers to adjourn the House as per the situation and there have been umpteen examples.

Naidu said he adjourned the House as he does not want people to witness unruly scenes. Proceedings of both Lok Sabh and Rajya Sabha are telecast live on TV.