No business in Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha could transact little business on Monday. Congress members forced repeated adjournments in the post-lunch session. They were livid that on Friday the ruling coalition had scuttled a private member's Bill, moved by a party leader, demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh. It accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of exploiting the issue of Aam Aadmi Party Lok Sabha member Bhagwant Mann's purported security breach to not allow Rajya Sabha to function on Friday. In retaliation, the Congress wanted the House to be adjourned for the day but Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien would not relent. When the House reassembled at 3pm, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh stood up and pointed out that on Friday, when the BJP and SAD members had protested, Kurien had adjourned the House for the day. Kurien finally adjourned the proceedings for the day.