The Lok Sabha today witnessed two adjournments following heated arguments between treasury and opposition bench members. When Congress member Charanjit Singh Channi was participating in the Budget discussion, he referred to the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and grandfather of Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu. This triggered a war of words between Mr. Bittu and Mr. Channi.
As the noisy scene prevailed, the Presiding Officer adjourned the House till 2 PM. When the House reassembled, Congress member K C Venugopal said Mr. Bittu made allegations against Mr. Channi which is against the rule. He questioned the conduct of the Minister demanding action against him. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the members should maintain decorum in the House.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also urged members to maintain the dignity of the House.
Later, Mr. Channi resumed his speech and claimed that the previous Congress government in Punjab had given compensation to the family of the farmers who lost lives in the farmers’ protest. He said that the farmers are demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price claiming that the Centre had made a commitment to them in this regard.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal objected to his comments saying the Congress MP has made incorrect remarks. He accused him of misleading the farmers. Mr Goyal also questioned Mr. Channi over his comments that the National Security Act was invoked on farmers saying the Congress members should authenticate his claims.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiu alleged that Mr. Channi has made misleading comments about farmers in the House and that his matter should be referred to the Privilege Committee. When NCP MP Sunil Tatkare started his speech on the General Budget, the House witnessed a heated exchange between treasury branch members and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee over seating arrangements. The Presiding Officer repeatedly urged the members for order in the House but the noisy scene continued leading to the adjournment of the House till 3 PM.
