LS adjourned for 5th day as govt refuses to budge on Pradhan’s resignation

The Lok Sabha remained paralysed for the fifth consecutive day on Friday as the government refused to accept demands for the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue. With the government refusing to relent, repeated disruptions were forced upon as the Opposition tried to convince the government. The din led to an eventual adjournment of the House until Monday.

When proceedings resumed at noon after an earlier adjournment, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the government had repeatedly expressed its willingness to discuss the matter in Parliament. There was no reference to the Opposition's demand for Pradhan's resignation.

Addressing the House, Rijiju appealed to leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to persuade Congress members to participate in the debate instead of insisting on preconditions.

He said attaching conditions before a discussion would send the wrong message to the country and stressed that Parliament was the appropriate forum to deliberate on the alleged examination irregularities.

Rijiju also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured strict action against those responsible for examination paper leaks, including a new law providing for stringent punishment and fast-track trials. He added that the Union Cabinet was expected to consider the proposed legislation on Friday.

The minister also noted that activist Sonam Wangchuk had ended his hunger strike, describing it as a positive development.

However, Congress and other Opposition members persisted with their demand for Pradhan's resignation, raising slogans of "Istifa Do" inside the House.

Rahul Gandhi sought to speak during the proceedings, but Jagdambika Pal, who was in the Chair, said he would be given an opportunity after ministers tabled official papers. Before that could happen, the House was adjourned for the day, preventing the Congress leader from making his remarks.

Earlier in the day, speaker Om Birla paid tribute to the armed forces ahead of the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas, which will be observed on Sunday.

As Opposition members began raising slogans, Birla reminded them that he had already agreed to a discussion on the paper leak issue under the House rules and urged them not to disrupt Question Hour, describing it as an important mechanism for holding the government accountable.

Question Hour has failed to function on all five sitting days of the Monsoon Session so far because of repeated adjournments triggered by the ongoing protests over the NEET controversy.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament is scheduled to continue until 13 August.

With PTI inputs