As PM Modi leaves Rajya Sabha, House erupts

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi came, heard and left from the Rajya Sabha. Despite speculation that the PM, who attended Rajya Sabha proceedings on Thursday morning, might reply to the charges levelled against his government by the Opposition over the demonetisation, he refused to make any intervention on Thursday.

With his presence the debate finally began after five days of disruption. Mr Modi sat through the speeches of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Trinamul MP Derek O’Brien and Samajwadi Party’s Naresh Agrawal. As the House adjourned for lunch, Mr Modi walked up to the Oppposition benches and to Dr Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, BSP supremo Mayawati, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav other leaders of the Congress, JD(U), NCP and DMK, and reached out to them. But after the House resumed post-lunch, the PM did not return. All hell broke loose and despite assurances by finance minister Arun Jaitley that the PM “will intervene”, the Opposition MPs demanded his presence throughout the debate.

Earlier, Mr Modi, with Mr Jaitley and minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in tow, made an attempt to reach out to the Opposition. The PM shook hands and was seen chatting with Dr Singh, as well as Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and his deputy Anand Sharma. Mr Modi also chatted with JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, NCP’s Praful Patel and the DMK’s Kanimozhi and some other leaders. He was also seen talking to nominated members Mary Kom and Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati.

The Opposition had been stalling the House over the past five days demanding the PM’s presence in the House for the debate on demonetisation which had begun on November 16.