Speaker expressed displeasure over minister’s absence in the House, questions raised on Manji and Karandlaje

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Uncomfortable situation arises due to absence of minister in Lok Sabha

New Delhi. An uncomfortable situation arose during the Question Hour of the Lok Sabha when MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his ministry’s Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje were not present in the House. The government faced criticism due to the absence of both the ministers when questions related to their ministry were asked.

After the question was asked, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla called the name of the minister, but no answer was received. The situation did not change even after calling again. After this, when he asked who the concerned Minister of State was, it came to light that Shobha Karandlaje was also not in the House.

Expressing strong displeasure on this, the Speaker directed the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to register this incident and take measures to avoid such a situation in future. He clarified that the absence of ministers during the proceedings will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Displeasure expressed over talks in the House

Om Birla also objected to the continuous conversation taking place in the House. He said that long discussions among the members during the proceedings were becoming a wrong tradition. He warned that the names of those doing so would be taken to task.

Pappu Yadav also got reprimand

During the question hour, the speaker also reprimanded independent MP Pappu Yadav. Yadav stood with his back towards the seat for a long time. On this Om Birla advised him to follow parliamentary traditions and respect the chair.

Mixed situation in the budget session

The second phase of the budget session of the Lok Sabha was spent in a situation of sometimes confrontation and sometimes agreement between the government and the opposition. There was a lot of discussion on the opposition’s proposal to remove the Speaker and the government’s stance on women’s reservation. Due to lack of consensus, the government had to retreat on the Foreign Contribution Regulation Bill, while it was successful in passing bills like Central Armed Police Force and Bankruptcy Code Amendment.

Political distance increased on many issues

After two days of discussion on the proposal to remove the Speaker, differences between the government and the opposition appeared to be increasing. At the same time, there was a heated debate on energy and fertilizer issues related to the West Asia crisis, although the atmosphere normalized after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address in both the houses and the all-party meeting.

The opposition also filed an impeachment notice against the Chief Election Commissioner, which was later rejected. Thus, amidst political tussle throughout the session, both conflict and agreement were seen on many important issues.