The Rajya Sabha functioned for 36 minutes on Thursday morning, spending a significant time debating the rule under which a discussion on Manipur should be held but adjourned without any consensus. Indicating a complete breakdown in the communication between the Treasury and the Opposition, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal revealed the details of a closed-door discussion between the two sides when the Opposition moved a resolution on Manipur — under Rule 167 in what was supposed to be the agreed “middle path”.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House that he had received notices under three sets of rules — 267, 176 and 167. Forty-eight notices were moved under 267 out of which 45 pertained to a demand for holding debate on the ongoing violence and unrest in Manipur. Shiv Sena (Udhav) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and AAP MP Sushil Gupta in their notices also demanded a debate on communal violence in Haryana. And DMK member P. Wilson wanted a debate on the Governor’s powers. All the notices were rejected for being not in conformity with the rules.
