Opposition members on Thursday again created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha over the paper leak issue of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), forcing adjournment of the House for the entire day. After the proceedings were adjourned twice, when Deputy Speaker Dilip Seyi started the House proceedings again at 2 pm, opposition members again started sloganeering and created a ruckus. Mr. Seyi, appealing to the members to raise their issues under Rule 377, said that this proceeding is very important. He requested all members to return to their seats and cooperate in the proceedings of the House. He said that repeatedly disrupting the proceedings of the House is not proper. However, despite his repeated appeal, the ruckus continued, after which he adjourned the proceedings for the entire day. Earlier, after the proceedings were adjourned once, when the House proceedings resumed at 12 pm, opposition members again started creating a ruckus. Amidst the din, essential government documents were tabled in the House. On the opposition's protest, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government had also appealed to the opposition to allow the House proceedings to continue yesterday. He said that Congress and other opposition party leaders have been spoken to personally and the government is ready to discuss the NEET paper leak issue with the opposition through the Lok Sabha Speaker, but for this, the cooperation of the opposition is necessary. Demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and a discussion on the NEET-UG paper leak issue, the opposition on Thursday again created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha, forcing adjournment of the House first at 12 pm and then at 2 pm. Due to the ruckus, no Zero Hour or Question Hour could take place in the Rajya Sabha in the first four days of the Monsoon session. When the proceedings resumed at 12 pm, Chairman CP Radhakrishnan allowed Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak. Mr. Kharge said that the government has agreed to discuss the NEET issue, but lakhs of students are protesting on the streets, they were lathi-charged, some students are being treated in hospitals, and their parents are worried. He said that the opposition is ready for a discussion, but it cannot start until the Education Minister resigns. Leader of the House Jagat Prakash Nadda termed the opposition's attitude as highly irresponsible, saying that the opposition neither wants a discussion nor wants to allow the House to function. He said that first, the opposition demanded a discussion on the NEET issue, the government agreed to it, but now a new condition has been put that the Education Minister should resign first. He said that the government is ready to discuss every issue. Meanwhile, members of the government and the opposition started shouting slogans against each other at the top of their voices, creating a ruckus in the House. Seeing the situation, the Chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. Earlier, in the morning session, opposition members had also created a ruckus on the same issue. On this occasion, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju offered to discuss the NEET exam issue in the House on the same day and appealed to the opposition to agree to it without any condition, but opposition members continued to shout slogans and create a ruckus while standing on their seats. Mr. Rijiju said that in this regard, he has also spoken to Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and other important opposition leaders. He said, "Everyone wants a discussion on this issue, but it is not proper to put a condition for it. First, demanding a discussion and then putting a condition and doing politics is not correct. The discussion should take place today itself." Parliamentary Affairs Minister further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly announced that those involved in leaking the exam papers will be given the harshest punishment and fast-track courts will be set up for this purpose. He appealed to the opposition to be ready for a discussion today itself. Meanwhile, amidst loud sloganeering, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was heard saying, "The Education Minister should resign." The Chairman adjourned the proceedings till 12 pm due to the ruckus. Due to the government and the opposition sticking to their respective stands on the NEET issue, no legislative work could be done in the Rajya Sabha in the first three days of the Monsoon session, and the House proceedings continued to be disrupted by the ruckus.
