Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal on Monday slammed the Opposition parties over uproar in the Parliament.
"We condemn the manner in which Opposition MPs behaved on the first day of the session today. We saw a very unfortunate situation, both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. In Rajya Sabha, the address of the Chairman was interrupted too," Piyush Goyal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He said that the tradition has been broken for the first time that Prime Minister was not allowed to introduce a new council of ministers.
"The old tradition was broken for the first time in the Parliament today. It is a good tradition that when a new Cabinet is formed or there is a reshuffle, the Prime Minister introduces them to the rest of the MPs in the Parliament. Opposition MPs interrupted that today," Piyush Goyal said.
"They could not see that such a large number of people from the backward community of the society have been inducted into the cabinet by the PM. For the first time, we saw such a large number of women, tribals, people from northeast becoming a part of union cabinet," he added.
While slamming Opposition MPs, Piyush Goyal said that it was unfortunate that the introduction of OBCs, Dalits, representatives of northeastern states, women as Ministers was interrupted. "A democratic process was halted by Opposition MPs. It's an insult to the democracy and people of India. We condemn this," he said.
Amid uproar by the Opposition, Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 3 pm and Lok Sabha till 3.30 pm on the first day of the Monsoon session on Monday.
The Opposition is cornering the BJP-led NDA government on a range of issues including farmers' protest, price rise, the increasing cost of diesel and petrol, and issues related to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congress has given a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha on Monday to discuss issues like inflation, farmers' issue and fuel price hike.
"We have given notice on inflation, others have given on farmers' issues. We will see what is approved by the Business Advisory Committee. We will be raising the same issues," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI.
Congress MP KC Venugopal has given a notice under rule 267 in Rajya Sabha to suspend the business and discuss the rise in the price of fuel and essential commodities and demanded immediate remedial measures to be taken by the government.
Meanwhile, several members have given notice in Rajya Sabha to suspend the business and discuss issues like the farmers' protest, fuel price rise and other issues.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament, 2021 commenced today and will continue till August 13.
(With inputs from Agencies)
