The Congress Party on Monday reiterated that the functioning of the Parliament is the sole responsibility of the Central Government, and any adjournment of session can only be laid at its doorstep.
"We wanted the discussions to be held under rule 56. And if the discussions could not be held, then what is the reason? If discussions could be held then when? But, the government did not respond to this, and then the Speaker also did not say anything, because of which we staged an hour-long protest. Even in Zero-Hour we were not given enough opportunity to raise the matter," Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI after the Lower House was adjourned till 2.10 p.m. today.
Earlier, around 20 Congress Members of Parliament, including Kharge and senior leader K.C. Venugopal, observed a sit down protest near the well of the Lower House as the Uttarakhand issue dominated proceedings.
The leaders also raised slogans denouncing the NDA government over their actions in the hill state. Slogans such as 'Manmani nahi chalegi' and 'Loktantra ki Hatya' could be heard from the group of MPs sitting on the floor.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha was earlier adjourned for the second time till 2 p.m. after frequent disrupts over the Uttarakhand issue.
Ahead of the second part of the budget session, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu had earlier said the government is willing to discuss every issue in Parliament, but hinted that President's rule in Uttarakhand may not be discussed, as the matter is sub-judice.
