‘Tainted day in history of Indian Parliament’ : Kharge vs Dhankar over NEET issue in Parliament
Kharge vs Dhankar over NEET issue in Parliament : Tensions between the government and the opposition over paper leaks intensified significantly on Friday. The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, along with others, entered the well of the House to draw the attention of Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. This move, aimed at pushing for a discussion on the issue, led to a heated exchange between the two leaders.
Expressing shock at Kharge entering the well of the House, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar said, "Honourable Members, today has become so tainted in the history of the Indian Parliament that the Leader of the Opposition himself has come to the well. This has never happened before. I am pained, I am shocked. The Indian parliamentary tradition will deteriorate to such an extent that the Leader of the Opposition will come to the well, the Deputy Leader will come to the well."
No business was conducted in the lower House with the Opposition holding strong on its demand for a discussion on NEET.
Kharge stirred a row by walking into the well of the House with other MPs to attract the "attention" of the Chairman while demanding a discussion on the NEET issue.
It is being propagated that Mallikarjun Kharge ji is the first Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha to enter the well of the House in protest.
Memories are short especially when old rivals become new partners.
On Aug 5 2019, the-then Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya… — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 28, 2024
Speaking n entering the well of the House, the Rajya Sabha LoP said, "It is his (Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar's) mistake...I went inside to draw his attention. But even then he was not looking... I was drawing attention. He was only looking at the ruling party. When I draw his attention as per the rules, he should look at me, but instead, he deliberately ignored me to insult me. So what was left for me? So to draw attention I would have to either go inside or shout very loudly. So I will definitely say that it is Chairman Sahab's mistake. I say that he should not do this and should maintain the dignity of this Rajya Sabha..."
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Opposition is demanding a special discussion on the NEET examination issue in the House.
"Under Rule 267, we are demanding a special discussion on it in the House, and after that, we will state our demands," Kharge said.
On the importance of having a discussion on the NEET row, Kharge said, "There have been such big scams, NEET exam, the paper has been leaked, lakhs of children are worried. So to draw attention to the problem of people, we asked for a specific discussion. We did not want to disturb anyone, we only wanted to raise the issues of the students...But he did not give it a chance, did not even pay attention to it and that is why we had to do this."
The opposition continued its strident pitch on the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination on Friday with the Congress and other parties demanding a discussion on the floor of the House.
- With inputs from agencies
