New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day Tuesday, as the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued to raise issue of the Gujarat Lokayukta being appointed by the governor without consulting the state government.
The issue forced two adjournments as BJP members trooped to the speaker's podium demanding a discussion on the issue. In between, there was another adjournment as the BJP objected to two members being appointed on a single motion to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G scam.
The first adjournment came within minutes as the house met for the day, losing the crucial question hour.
The BJP members raised the issue of Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal appointing the Lokayukta without consulting the state government. BJP members advanced to Chairman Hamid Ansari's podium, forcing him to adjourn the house till 12 noon.
As the house met at 12 noon, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) objected on a technicality to a motion appointing two members to the JPC.
The appointments were to be made against the vacancies after Jayanthi Natarajan (Congress) became the environment and forests minister and the Rajya Sabha term of Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party India-Marxist) ended. He was subsequently re-elected to the house from West bengal.
The motion was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla for appointing Congress member E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan in place of Natarajan and re-appointing Yechury to the JPC.
The BJP's objection was on a technicality - that two members could not be appointed on one motion.
"Two vacancies cannott be filled by one motion. We had moved amendments on the previous motion. After some time you are bringing both motions together, and rejecting our amendment, it is not fair," BJP member S.S. Ahluwalia said.
As Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan passed the motion after a voice vote, agitated BJP members demanded a divison, which would have involved physical voting. As the din continued, the house was adjourned till 2 p.m.
However at 2 p.m., BJP members once again raised the issue of appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta, forcing the chair to adjourn the house for the day.
Proceedings in the upper house were also stalled on Monday and last Friday on the same issue. BJP members demanded Governor Beniwal's recall.