With the Opposition attacking the BJP-led government over CBI raids on Delhi government offices, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's office was not raided and the action related to a graft case registered before the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power.
"The Chief Minister's Office has not been raided. The raid has nothing to do with Arvind Kejriwal or his tenure. There is a corruption case against an officer of Delhi government. The raid is in relation to that officer. It is the officer (office) that has been searched," Jaitley said in Rajya Sabha amid noisy protests by opposition members.
An angry Opposition however forced three adjournments in the House over the issue by shouting slogans, alleging an "attack on federal structure" and an "undeclared Emergency" in the country.
Jaitley, the Leader of the House, also said that the case against the officer related to a period before Kejriwal's tenure.
Attacking the government over the issue, Derek O'Brien (TMC) alleged that this was an "undeclared Emergency" in the country that the office of Delhi Chief Minister was being raided.
"This is not a party issue. This is about the federal structure of the country. This is a federal issue," O'Brien said as some TMC members shouted slogans and entered the Well.
Members of Left parties and JD-U were also standing in their seats when the issue was raised.
Congress members, who had earlier forced an adjournment in the House raising questions over Arunachal Pradesh Governor's role, again trooped into the Well raising anti- government slogans.
Jaitley said the TMC leader has "not been correctly informed" on the raid and insisted that "corruption is not an issue of federalism."
As the din continued, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien adjourned the House till noon.
When the House reassembled, O'Brien again raked up the issue saying there has been a raid in the precincts of the Chief Minister's Office.
Jaitley retorted saying that the TMC member earlier said that the Chief Minister's office was raided and has now changed it to the precincts of the CM's office. "You are camouflaging corruption," he said wondering whether corruption was a federal issue for Trinamool Congress.
Accusing the government of "murdering Constitution", Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said "save the elected non-BJP state governments from this BJP government (at Centre)", as Congress members kept shouting slogans like "stop the murder of democracy" and "stop the murder of Constitution".
"Government itself is putting hurdles in the functioning
of the House. A Chief Minister's office is being raided during the Session. This government does not want to run Parliament," the Leader of Opposition said.
As the din continued Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the House twice.
When the House reassembled at noon, Ansari asked the members to take up the Question Hour, but some Congress members kept raising slogans from the aisles.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi sought cooperation of the members in running the House and suggested to the Chair that Rajya Sabha could function till midnight to finish its business.
K C Tyagi (JD-U) also raised the issue of CBI raids, but could not be heard amid the din.
Ansari then adjourned the House till 2 pm.
Kejriwal, who is involved in a prolonged tussle with the Centre, has claimed that the CBI has raided his office and launched a no-holds barred attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was resorting to "cowardice".
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When the House met at 2 PM, the Congress members again stood up shouting "murder of the Constitution won't be allowed".
The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs then requested the Chair to take up discussion on the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Amendment Bill.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury objected to it saying that the agenda had Whistle Blowers Amendment Bill listed first and sought that it should be taken up first. He also accused the government of having the discussion on the SC/ST Bill as "mere formality".
Apparently referring to issues like the role of Arunachal Governor and the CBI raids in Delhi, Yechury said whatever was happening "outside" the House was taking its toll on the proceedings in the House.
Ghulam Nabi Azad said Congress was in full support of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Amendment Bill and would ensure its passage in this Session itself.
"However, we don't want a discussion on it in this din. we have another one and half weeks to two weeks and we will definitely cooperate but not in din," he said.
Azad said that while the SC/ST bill was important as Dalit's "hands and legs are been chopped under BJP rule", it is equally important to raise the issue of BJP government's attempt to remove non-BJP Chief Ministers one by one.
He accused the BJP government in Centre of trying to topple the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.
"Attempt is being to remove non-BJP CM one by one. As long as it happens, proceedings cannot be conducted smoothly," he said.
TMC MP Derek O'Brien also stood up in support of the protesters saying, "government's actions outside the House are affecting the agenda inside the House".
As the slogans continued to rent the air, Kurien was then forced to adjourn the House till 3 PM.
When the House reassembled, Congress and TMC members
were again in the aisles raising slogans, with the Deputy Chairman suggesting that the debate on the Whistle Blowers Bill be taken up.
As the Chair asked K C Tyagi (JDU) to speak on the bill, protesting members shouted slogans at higher decibel levels. Both Tyagi and D Raja (CPI) requested the Chair to get the House in order to debate the bill. "How can we take up bill in this kind of din?" Raja said.
Amid commotion, Anand Sharma (Cong) said "it has been an established practice that bills are taken up only when members take part. The Leader of Opposition has clarified that the office of the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh has been misused to destabilise the state government. ... If we have a government at the Centre which is actually engaging in this kind of activity, how can we allow..."
Soon thereafter, Congress members moved from the aisles into the Well shouting slogans. The Chair tried to stop them but his warnings went unheeded.
"This is very bad. How can you do this," said Kurien and told Sharma, "I told you in the morning, bring a substansive motion to discuss about a Governor and conduct of a Governor. Without bringing that motion, I can't allow."
He told the Congress leader that "you say I should not take up bills in the din. Am I responsible for it? You are responsible for the din. If you want to prove they (government) are responsible, then you debate and prove."
Azad then stood up to attack the government charging it with "using the office of the Governor to destablise the state government and sabotaging the Constitution? The government itself is responsible for the din in the House. Can any responsible government do this when Parliament is in session?"
In response, BJP members including some ministers were on their feet shouting vociferously -- "Have some shame. Stop lying", leading to heated exchanges in the House.
"They want leaders to talk in the din but they don't want to debate on the bill in the din. Why do they have different standards? We don't want to adjourn the House. We want the House to continue till midnight. Please don't adjourn the House," Union Minister Piyush Goyal said.
HRD Minister Smriti Irani said many important bills like GST were pending and the government wanted the House to function. "Let the House run. Let people know... We are responsible to the country," she said.
Besides the two, other ministers J P Nadda, Dharmendra Pradhan and Thawar Chand Gehlot also asked the Chair to continue the business and not adjourn the House.
Amid heated exchanges, the Chair asked members to lay their special mentions. As the din continued, Kurien called it a day saying, "I am really sorry what is happening. It is most undemocratic. They are hijacking. Most important bills are pending. It is painful to adjourn the House.
