New Delhi [India], July 23 (ANI): Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs prevented the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge from speaking despite the Chairman permitting him to do so, and accused Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju of spreading “disinformation”.
In a post on X, Rajya Sabha MP said, “The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs is, as usual, spreading disinformation. BJP MPs this morning prevented the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from speaking even after the Chairman had permitted him to do so.”
https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/2080175404024025098
He further said that the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was a “nation-wide demand” that was also being echoed in Parliament.
“The resignation of Mantri Pradhan is a nation-wide demand that is being echoed in Parliament as well. It is disgraceful that the Pradhan Mantri continues to ignore this demand which is every Indian’s plea for enforcing accountability,” Ramesh said.
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha witnessed a stormy start as proceedings were adjourned until 12:00 noon following heavy sloganeering and protests by Opposition members over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.
The House saw a sharp exchange of words between the government and the Opposition benches, with both sides refusing to back down from their respective stands on the NEET paper leak controversy.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that while the government is fully prepared to discuss the NEET issue, the Opposition is deliberately stalling the process by imposing pre-conditions.
“All parties have demanded that NEET be discussed. Today, the entire NDA party has again demanded that NEET be discussed. I felt that yesterday, after meeting with Kharge ji and some other opposition leaders, we had a little hope that a discussion could take place today. The Congress party imposed a condition. We requested that we decide among ourselves how and for how long the discussion would proceed but don’t impose conditions. Your intention to impose conditions is not correct because you want to stop the discussion,” Rijiju added.
“We are again requesting that the NEET exam be discussed thoroughly in both Houses, without any politicisation. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took a very strong step and informed the country that judicial fast-track courts should be established so that if any incident occurs in the country, the harshest punishment can be given as soon as possible. Such a good decision has been taken by the government. My request is that you do not impose any condition,” he said.
In a sharp rebuttal, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, termed the Prime Minister’s remarks as “instigative” and accused the government of failing to take accountability for the paper leak.
“Today, the Prime Minister has made a statement. This is an instigative statement. The Education Minister should resign; only then will we be ready to have a discussion,” he said.
Amid the verbal tussle with the opposition MPs in both Houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are adjourned till 2:00 pm.
Meanwhile, earlier today, several Opposition members staged a protest near the Makar Dwar on the Parliament premises on Thursday, reiterating their demand for the dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan amid nationwide protests over exam paper leaks. (ANI)
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