Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Tuesday saw heated exchanges between Opposition and Treasury as well as the Chairs as the members discussed the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.
Lok Sabha
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lower House on Tuesday, while the Opposition members continued to chant “Manipur, Manipur” and “we want justice” in the background.
Before the Prime Minister’s reply, Opposition members requested Speaker Om Birla to allow Manipur MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam to speak in the House but he denied, saying that the MP had already been given a chance yesterday. The Opposition MPs then trooped into the Well of the House, angering the Speaker.
“The people of the country have given us this mandate after testing us on every criterion. The people have seen our track record of 10 years,” PM Modi said in his speech. He also mocked the Congress for claiming “moral victory” in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election.
Mr. Modi also touched upon the NEET controversy and launched an attack on the erstwhile Congress regime for hindering reforms in the armed forces. He alleged that during the Congress rule, the armed forces did not even have bulletproof jackets.
The Prime Minister also assured students that his government was committed to averting incidents of paper leaks at “war footing”. The perpetrators would not be spared, he said. He assured that his government was taking steps to further strengthen the modalities of the examination process.
The Lower House was adjourned sine die after passing the resolution on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.
Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar sarcastically said Jairam Ramesh should take the seat of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge since he is doing his job already, leading to a war of words between them. LoP Kharge retorted by saying the Chairman was trying to bring in the “Varna” (caste) system.
“The senior leadership (Kharge) is here. I think you (Ramesh) should replace (Kharge).... You are so intelligent, so gifted, so talented, you should immediately come and take the seat in place of Mr. Kharge because, by and large, you are doing his job,” Mr. Dhankhar said after he asked Congress leader Pramod Tiwari to not state unverified facts, and Mr. Ramesh said it would be authenticated.
Chairman Dhankhar accused LoP Kharge of twisting his remark, saying that he never meant it.
DMK Rajya Sabha member P. Wilson urged the central government to either abolish the medical entrance exam NEET or approve Tamil Nadu’s NEET exemption Bill to exclude the State from the competitive exam.
Apart from NEET paper leak and other controversies related to the National Testing Agency (NTA), railway accidents and farmers’ welfare were also raised during the discussion in the Upper House.
Nominated member Sudha Murthy expressed her gratitude towards the President and the Prime Minister for nominating her and spoke on the issue of women’s health, specifically cervical cancer. She suggested that the government look into a possible vaccination drive.
