Parliament Budget Session Highlights: Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am tomorrow

On West Asia conflict, BJP MP & former foreign secretary, Harsh Shringla says, "EAM Dr S Jaishankar has issued a Suo Motu statement in Rajya Sabha. His statement has comprehensively covered the government's position on this issue. The govt will continue to monitor this situation carefully."

“It costs one and a half crore rupees per hour to run the House. Two and a half lakh rupees are spent on every single minute. Nine crore rupees are spent in one day,” Presiding officer Jagdambika Pal said in Lok Sabha amid Opposition's uproar.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am tomorrow, March 10.

Lok Sabha proceedings resume

“They are dodging the issue. We have proposed a discussion in both Houses. The country's foreign policy is failing. Given the kind of statements coming from Trump, what is our government's stand? Many of our people are stuck abroad... 55% of India's energy comes from outside—what solution will you come up with for that? Under whose pressure are you making these statements, trying to evade?,” Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan told ANI, after EAM Jaishankar's statement to LS and RS.

"The Parliament is not functioning. I wanted to speak on this subject in the Parliament. Such an impotent opposition and the Leader of Propaganda, who is ignorant and by turning ignorance into arrogance, the kind of things he is saying, I have never seen such things in a democracy," said BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

Civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu told Rajya Sabha on Monday that the government, in collaboration with airlines, were working to get Indians out of the Middle East, with safety being of utmost importance.

Saying that 90,000 Indians had travelled out from the region over the last week, Naidu also lauded airlines for being “very considerate”.

Senior BJP MP and Lok Sabha chair for the day, Jagadambika Pal, adjourned the House till 3 pm amid loud protests by the Opposition.

As Opposition MPs continued to protest loudly inside the Lok Sabha, drowning out EAM Jaishankar's statement on the Middle East, Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju lashed out, saying, “I have never seen such irresponsible Opposition parties in my lifetime.”

“This Opposition does not understand the basic ethics of this House,” the minister said.

Senior BJP MP Jagadambika Pal, who is chairing LS proceedings, has urged the Opposition to allow EAM Jaishankar to complete his statement on West Asia situation.

Jaishankar is presently speaking, amid loud protests by the Opposition.

EAM Jaishankar began briefing Lok Sabha about the situation in the Middle East shortly after the House reconvened at noon, amid loud protests and sloganeering by Opposition MPs.

“With great sadness, I am saying that the Opposition's behaviour is very irresponsible and also condemnable. They have no interest in the country or debate but only in raising anarchy,” said Nadda.

Jaishankar ended his speech by highlighting the three guiding factors of India's approach to the situation in the Middle East.

“One: India is in favour of peace, and urges a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We advocate de-escalation, restraint and ensuring the safety of civilians,” the EAM said.

“Two: The well-being and security of the Indian community in the region is our priority,” he added.

“Three: Our national interest, including energy security and trade will always be paramount,” Jaishankar concluded.

“For us, the interest of the Indian consumer has and will always be the overriding priority,” Jaishankar told Rajya Sabha on the energy situation.

Iran had requested docking for three ships on Feb 20, which was granted on 1 March, Jaishankar said, adding that IRIS Lavan docked on 4 March in Kochi.

“The crew is currently in Indian naval facilities and we believe this was the right thing to do, and the Iranian foreign minister has expressed his country's thanks,” the EAM said.

Saying that attempts had been made to contact Iran, Jaishankar said communication with Iranian leadership was “difficult at this time”.

The EAM, however, added that he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, adding that high-level conversations would continue.

Jaishankar told Rajya Sabha that India had been in “regular contact” with the US amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, without providing further details.

Jaishankar said that the government was in “close touch” with Gulf nations, with PM Modi himself speaking to several heads of state after the conflict broke out on 28 February.

“This ongoing conflict is of particular concern to India. We are a neighbouring region, and have obvious stakes that West Asia remains stable…. The region is key to our energy security and includes many important suppliers of oil and gas....Serious supply chain disruptions and a climate of instability are serious issues,” Jaishankar said in his statement to Rajya Sabha, adding that there were one crore Indians in Gulf nations, and several thousand in Iran.

Jaishankar said that the government was constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East since conflict broke out on 28 February, and that every effort being made to bring back Indians stuck in the region.

Following the beginning of hostilities between US-Israel and Iran, Jaishankar said that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is India's highest decision-making body for national security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took stock of the situation and reviewed the safety of the Indian community in the Middle East.

All ministries and departments were asked to take appropriate measures, he added.

Jaishankar added that PM Modi was continuing to monitor the situation.

Speaking on the Middle East, Jaishankar said, “We believe dialogue and diplomacy should be pursued.”

“It is also imperative that sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region be respected,” the EAM added.

Rajya Sabha MPs cheered Team India's victory in the T20 World Cup on Sunday, with chair C P Radhakrishnan calling the win a “moment of national pride”.

Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon on Monday after paying tribute to departed MPs.

Watch Rajya Sabha proceedings for the second part of Budget Session here.

Watch Lok Sabha proceedings for the second part of Budget Session here.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, in a meeting with INDIA bloc leaders ahead of the Budget Session, said that the war in the Middle East had reached India's backyard and called for a contingency plan.

“In this context, it is imperative to have a full-fledged discussion on the current geopolitical crisis. A one-sided statement by the EAM is not the solution. We need to collectively take the nation into confidence. The GOI must come out with a detailed contingency plan to ensure our energy security, assist our traders, diversify supply chains for our exports and stop penalising our people with price hikes,” Kharge said.

No Lok Sabha Speaker has ever been removed from office, though the Constitution allows it under Article 94.

Since Independence, three attempts have been made to remove a Lok Sabha Speaker from office — in 1954, 1966, and 1987 — but all three were defeated.

The Congress on Friday had demanded that a full-fledged short-duration discussion be held on the Middle East situation after US-Israel attacks on Iran and the subsequent killing of the regime's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last weekend.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh had said the Modi government was making India play "second fiddle" not only to the US but also to Israel. The Congress used cricketing analogy and said that the Modi government has been on a sticky wicket for a long time with "googlies being bowled from Washington".

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The second half of the Budget session of Parliament is set for a stormy start on Monday, with the Lok Sabha scheduled to take up an opposition-sponsored resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla.

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