Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar Adjourns Proceedings For The Day After Spat With TMC's Derek O'Brien

Following a spat with Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar  adjourned the proceedings of the House for the day on Friday. Dhankar adjourned the House after he was interrupted by O’Brien over the issue of non-admission of notices given by opposition members under rule 267 to discuss the Manipur situation.

According to a PTI report, 47 MPs from various parties, including Congress, DMK, TMC and Left, had given notices under rule 267. The rule calls for suspension of the listed business and taking up the issue being raised.

Continued ruckus over the Manipur violence by Opposition parties dominated the Parliament proceedings. The Opposition parties have remained steadfast on their demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi give a reply on the Manipur issue in Parliament.

The Vice President said he had already agreed to a short-duration discussion on the Manipur issue and asked the members to discuss the issue under that rule.

He further said that the behaviour of the MPs in the Upper House was watched globally. At this point, Derek O’Brien stood up and pressed for the motion that opposition MPs have been seeking to move since the start of the Monsoon session last week.

He thumped the desk to make his point, an act which Dhankhar termed as "theatrics". "Show respect to the chair," he said. "Don't thump the desk."

As Derek O'Brien continued to make his point, the chairman adjourned the proceedings for the day. The House will now meet on Monday, July 31. 

The Lok Sabha was also adjourned till Monday amid protests by opposition members over the Manipur issue.

However, two bill -- the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023, and the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023 -- were passed amid the din.

The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill aims to set up National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC), and will repeal the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, to streamline nursing education in India.