Amidst Opposition uproar, Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day

When the House met for the day, opposition members demanded an obituary reference for the Army personnel killed in Tuesday`s attack in Nagrota, in Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi:  The Rajya Sabha was on Wednesday adjourned for the day soon after it met post-lunch as opposition members created an uproar demanding obituary reference for the Army personnel killed in the Nagrota attack and for those who died in demonetisation-related issues.

Earlier, the House had witnessed two adjournments over the issue.

When the House met for the day at 11 am, opposition members demanded an obituary reference for the Army personnel killed in Tuesday`s attack in Nagrota, in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as for the over 80 people who have died in issues related to the November 8 demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.

Leader of Opposition in the House Ghulam Nabi Azad was the first to raise the issue.

"Our seven soldiers, including two senior officers, have died at Nagrota. The House must first pay homage to them, and after that to the 82 people who have died due to government`s wrong policy (of demonetisation)," Azad said.

He was joined by Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy who also pressed for an obituary reference for the killed soldiers as well as for the "people who have died in the queues".

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati, Janata Dal-United`s (JD-U) Sharad Yadav and Samajwadi Party`s (SP) Ram Gopal Yadav also raised the same demand.

Ram Gopal Yadav also reiterated the demand for compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the people who have died in bank queues post demonetisation.

As soon as the House was reconvened at 12 noon after the first adjournment, opposition members stood up and started chanting "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" and ignored the Chair`s call for question hour.

Interestingly, the treasury bench MPs also raised the same slogan.

Amused at this, Chairman Hamid Ansari observed, "There is total agreement in the House."

However, when the sloganeering did not stop, Ansari adjourned the House till 2 pm.

The Chair adjourned the House first till 12 noon, and later till 2 pm. Later, when the ruckus refused to subside, the House was adjourned for the day.