Opposition should use Zero Hour to raise issues & let Parliament function: Om Birla

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Tuesday urged the opposition MPs to let the Parliament function as the latter continued with their protests against the ruling dispensation in the ongoing winter session,.

He said that the MPs should raise questions, seek answers from the government, and engage in discussions with government representatives.

“I expect you all to do the same,” Birla said. Despite his request, the pandemonium continued in the House, leading the Speaker to adjourn proceedings until 12noon.

“The Parliament is a holy place, there is a decorum and dignity that needs to be maintained in the Parliament since this is the place where we obtained our freedom and it’s the most important place of the largest democracy. The nation’s wishes and ambitions are fulfilled in this very place, so we need to respect and honor it”, Birla told the dissenting MPs.

“The kind of protests, sloganeering, and posters being used to dissent are not just undignified but also go against the procedural rules,” Birla said.

Birla urged the opposition to use the Zero Hour to raise important issues, instead of disrupting the functioning of the House.

“The opposition should use Zero Hour to raise issues instead of not letting the Parliament function at all,” Birla said.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar had called for a meeting of opposition party leaders for the smooth functioning of the House.

According to people aware of the details, only three leaders of the opposition parties were present namely DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, Congress’s Jairam Ramesh and Pramod Tiwari.

In the meeting, the leaders said they want the house to function, but the opposition leaders should be allowed to speak.

Leader of the House, JP Nadda is learnt to have told opposition members that they should urge leader of opposition in Lok Sabha (LoP) Rahul Gandhi to call off the protest and allow the House to function.

The Congress has charged the Union government of favouring the Adani group and is demanding a probe into the allegations of misconduct against the group by the US justice department.

“There was no discussion in the morning meeting about the speculation that the opposition will bring a no confidence motion against the chairman,” said a person aware of the details.