Unruly scenes once again dominated Parliament on Tuesday as members of the Congress party and AIADMK clashed in the Lok Sabha. AIADMK members were charging towards Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and the situation became so heated that marshals had to rush in to protect him. Both the Houses failed to transact any business for the sixteenth straight day and it appears that the second leg of the Budget session is headed for a washout.
The incident occurred when AIADMK members, who were demanding the immediate setting up of the Cauvery river management board, got angry after Congress leader KC Venugopal alleged that they were involved in "match fixing with the BJP." The protesting AIADMK MPs who were in the Well of the House took out their frustrations on Kharge saying, "We are fighting for drinking water for the past 16 days in the House and you say we are match fixing?"
They then retaliated by rushing towards him showering abuses and threatening physical assault. The situation got so bad that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi who sits in the front row stood up and singlehandedly shielded the 75-year-old leader from assault. This continued till RJD MP JPN Yadav and other Congress MPs like Rajiv Satav, Gaurav Gogoi and Deepender Hooda came around and encircled the leader.
The protests come as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was to take up a no-confidence motion against the government. However, with the ongoing ruckus the Lok Sabha Speaker adjourned Parliament for the day without taking up the motion, saying she could not count the number of 50 MPs required thanks to the din. Opposition MPs however claimed that they were holding placards displaying their seat numbers from one to 80 to show their support of the no-confidence motion. The Speaker however asked members to put down the placards as they are not allowed in the House.
Outside Parliament, a defiant Kharge told reporters: "Yes, I am repeating it is match fixing. It is a government-sponsored protest to stop us from speaking. The Government is instigating the AIADMK; using them as a shield to ward off no-confidence motion. We requested the Government and the Speaker to persuade AIADMK to suspend their agitation for two days so as to allow the no-confidence motion. But the Government wants to create excuses to prevent the no-confidence motion."
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha was also adjourned for the day about 20 minutes after it had assembled. This came after a unique protest by opposition parties, whose members remained seated for over 30 minutes even after Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu called it a day and left the House. After laying of the listed papers, Naidu said the House should bid farewell to retiring MPs, listen to their experiences and thank them for their contributions. However, AIADMK members continued to raise slogans from the Well and were soon joined by the TDP. AIADMK MP Maitreyan sought the intervention of Prime Minister Modi (who was present in the House) on their demand for the immediate setting up of the Cauvery river water management board.
