NEW DELHI, Aug 2 - The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the fourth successive day today over the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress MPs creating a ruckus and demanding a statement by the Prime Minister in the House.
The House was scheduled to take up a short duration discussion on the recent increase in the minimum support prices (MSPs) for kharif crops and challenges in the agricultural sector.
However, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad asked the Chair to allow members from Assam to participate in the discussion on NRC. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel accused the Opposition of not allowing BJP leader Amit Shah to speak. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said he will request Home Minister Rajnath Singh to come and reply.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress members trooped into the well of the House demanding that Prime Minister reply to the discussion.
Naidu took a serious exception to senior TMC leader Derek O�Brien pressing for his demand. Expressing his displeasure, the Chairman said it has become a fashion for the agitating members to disrupt the House. The members do not want to discuss the burning issue of farmers, Naidu said, adding they did not allow the Home Minister to speak either.
Despite repeated appeals to go back to their seats, TMC members continued to raise slogans forcing the adjournment of the House for the day.
Later, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said TMC and Congress members disrupted the Parliament on the NRC issue yet again, and both were repeatedly demanding a statement from the Prime Minister. Today, there were a number of bills pending approval, but the Opposition parties did not want to pass them and they were deliberately disrupting the House, he told newsmen.
Goel also alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has made a complete U-turn on the issue. �In 2005, she herself raised her voice demanding deportation of all illegal Bangladeshis from India. Now she is supporting illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh,� he alleged.
Yesterday, Union Minister Arun Jaitley took to Twitter to take on the Opposition. In a series of tweets, he said: �Leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee must realise that India�s sovereignty is not a play thing. Sovereignty and citizenship are the soul of India. Imported vote banks are not.�
�The result of this has been that in the 50 years between 1961 and 2011, the majority community in Assam has grown 2.4 times; the minority has grown 3.9 times. This has caused a major demographic impact.�
�India�s sovereignty is paying a heavy price because of the quality of its political discourse. Though Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi took a position in 1972 and 1985 for the deletion and deportation of foreigners, Rahul Gandhi takes a contrarian position and his party turns turtle,� he stated.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had stated in the LS on August 4, 2005: �The infiltration in Bengal has become a disaster now... I have both the Bangladeshi and the Indian voters list. This is a very serious matter. I would like to know when it would be discussed in the House.�
�Historically, both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, through the Congress Government that they headed, committed to this nation that post 25th March, 1971 migrants would be detected, identified and deported. The SC in Sarbananda Sonowal vs UOI (2005) held �...The silent and invidious demographic invasion of Assam may result in the loss of geo-strategically vital districts of lower Assam. The influx of these illegal migrants is turning these districts into a Muslim majority region...�
�Ever since Independence, we had a significant influx of illegal migrants from East Pakistan. Because of ethnic and linguistic similarity and religious commonality, it was possible for these people together to avoid detection and find a shelter in Assam,� Jaitley said in his tweets.
Meanwhile, BJP national president Amit Shah said illegal migrants are a burden on the country and how long can India carry on with this burden. The illegal migrants are enjoying all developmental benefits, government services and employment at the cost of genuine Indian citizens, Goel quoted Shah as saying.
