Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow after repeated disruptions

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day after heated exchanges on procedures regarding Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s remarks in the House. Swaraj today rose to speak in the Rajya Sabha braving growing protests by the Opposition over allegations that she helped former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi obtain a UK visa. “I never requested the British government to issue a visa to Lalit Modi,” said Sushma. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon after the Opposition stormed in to the Well holding placards and resorted to sloganeering. With nearly half of the Parliament Monsoon Session nearly washed out, the Congress appears to be unrelenting in their demand for Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s resignations. Sonai Gandhi at today’s Congress Parliamentary Party meeting said that BJP’s ‘dialogue first and action later’ strategy is not acceptable to Congress. “We are raising very important issue with strong evidence, but Govt is unwilling to take action in this regard,” said Sonia Gandhi. Despite the government’s best efforts to clear the logjam at the all-party meeting, the Opposition has adopted the “no resignation, no discussion” line. With the House paralysed for most of the Monsoon Session, the BJP-led government are believed to be mulling over the idea of introducing a “no work, no pay” policy to counter the Opposition.