Amid a noisy stand-off between treasury and opposition benches, Lok Sabha on Wednesday referred the controversial FCRA amendment bill to a joint parliamentary committee
NEW DELHI — Amid a noisy stand-off between treasury and opposition benches, Lok Sabha on Wednesday referred the controversial FCRA amendment bill to a joint parliamentary committee and passed a bill to amend laws on mines and mineral development without any debate, before adjourning for the day on the penultimate day of the Monsoon Session.
At the start of the day, Speaker Om Birla told protesting Opposition members that even if their approach and thoughts differ from the ruling front, the country wants the House to function.
He also appealed to the Opposition to allow the House to function, stressing that it was not right for them to tarnish the image of the House by holding protests and shouting slogans.
Faced with an unrelenting Opposition, he adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.
In the meantime, Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters outside Parliament that the government was ready for a debate on students' protest over the NEET issue and wrote a letter to Birla in this regard.
Also Read: Nagaland MP Supongmeren urges Centre to defer FCRA Amendment Bill
After the Lok Sabha proceedings resumed at 2 pm, the government proposed to move the FCRA amendment bill to a joint parliamentary panel and the motion was passed by the House.
This was despite the opposition demanding withdrawal of the bill, alleging it was targeted against minorities.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju dared the Opposition to show a single clause in the bill that was against the minorities.
After a brief adjournment, the house again re-assembled at 3 pm, when it passed the Mines and Minerals Bill.
Amid opposition protests, Rijiju said the government was ready to start a debate immediately on the student protest over the NEET issue, and Shah has already written to the Speaker about this.
He said the Opposition should not run away from the debate when the Home Minister was ready to answer all their questions.
As the stand-off continued with the treasury benches also raising the issue of student protests in Jharkhand, the house was adjourned by the chair till Thursday, 11 am.
Earlier, in the morning, the Question Hour was concluded within less than three minutes.
Since the start of the Monsoon Session on July 20, the Question Hour has not been completed even a single day. Wednesday is the 18th straight day that the crucial hour was disrupted.
Lok Sabha proceedings have been disrupted continuously since the start of the Monsoon Session on July 20 owing to persisting differences between the Opposition and the government over various issues, including student protests and Ram Mandir donation row.