As soon as the House assembled at 11 am, opposition members belonging to the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK and others came to the well of the House carrying placards against the imposition of the GST on some new items.

They raised slogans against the Modi government over the issue of price rise.

The placards read “Gabbar Singh Strikes Again”.

The opposition has been describing the GST as Gabbar Singh Tax, referring to the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay’s villain Gabbar Singh, who used to illegally collect taxes from the villagers in the film.

Speaker Om Birla appealed to the opposition members to go to their seats and said carrying of placards inside the House is against rules.

He said since the House is discussing farmers’ issue, the members should participate in it.

“”You carry rules book but don’t follow rules. The rules prohibit carrying placards here but you are carrying them. You raise farmers issue outside the House but not inside. “You raise the issue of price rise outside the House but not inside. In the last session, you did not participate in the debate on price rise. This is not good,”” Birla said.

As the opposition members did not pay any heed to the Speaker’s appeal, he adjourned the House till 2 pm after about 15 minutes of proceedings.

A five per cent GST has kicked in on pre-packaged and labelled food items such as cereals, pulses and flour weighing less than 25 kg.

For a commodity measured in litres like curd and ‘lassi, the limit is 25 litres.

Rajya Sabha proceedings in the pre-lunch session on Tuesday were adjourned without transacting any business as opposition parties, including the Congress, pressed for an immediate discussion on issues ranging from price rise to the Agnipath scheme.

Members of the Congress, Left, and AAP insisted on a discussion on the issues, forcing adjournment of proceedings till 2 pm.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected notices given by Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders under rule 267 that calls for setting aside the business of the day to take up the issues listed by them.

“I am not admitting them,” Naidu said soon after the listed papers were laid on the table.

Opposition members insisted on a discussion on the issues.

“On price rise and other issues, we can have a discussion. On that I have no problem,” Naidu said indicating a willingness to take up a debate on the issue at a later date under a different rule.

But this did not pacify the opposition members who vociferously started raising the issue.

Naidu asked members to resume their places and ordered that nothing that they speak would go on record.

Soon after, he adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.

The Congress on Tuesday held a protest over the issue of price rise in Parliament complex here, a day after the Goods and Services Tax on packaged food items such as milk and curd came into force.

Besides Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, some opposition MPs including Supriya Sule of the NCP, Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi party and Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena were present during the protest which was held in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Parliament complex.

Raising slogans against the government, the Congress members demanded a rollback in prices of LPG.

They also held banners and placards which read that “high inflation, continuous price rise badly affecting common people”.

Congress MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha participated in the protest.

They included leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

“The imposition of five per cent GST on curd, paneer and other commodities of daily use will hurt the common people. We will protest inside the House also,” Kharge said.

The Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said opposition members led by his party wanted a discussion on price rise and GST but the government did not allow and the speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm.

“We will raise the same when the House reconvenes. Why is the government afraid about holding the discussion,” he asked.

The protest came a day after GST on essential items including curd and paneer came into force.

The protest also came after the Rajya Sabha secretariat issued a circular saying no protest or demonstration will be allowed inside Parliament complex.

The opposition had protested against the issue of the circular, saying the voice of democracy is being throttled.

LUCKNOW: Two journalists of different Hindi language daily newspapers were allegedly shot at by two motorcycle-borne assailants in tribal district of Sonbhadra on Thursday night while they were sitting at a tea stall. The police claimed that both the scribes were out of danger and were undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

In a tweet shared by Sonbhadra police, the police officials informed that the two journalists Shyam Sunder Pandey, 38, and Vijay Shankar Pandey, 40, were targeted when they were sitting in front of a tea stall in Khaliyari market under Raipur police station area along with some friends at around 8:30 pm.

Shyam Sunder suffered bullet injury on his right hand while Vijay Shanker suffered an injury near the right eyebrow. Bullets brushed off causing minor injuries to both the journalists and doctors said that they were stable and out of danger, police said.

While talking to media persons, Shyam Sunder expressed ignorance about the assailants saying he was clueless as neither he nor Vijay Shanker had animosity with anyone.

However, Raipur police station SHO PP Srivastava said that per the eyewitness account, the assailants were covering their faces with a cloth and fled towards the Bihar border at some distance from the market.

He said three bullet shells were recovered from the crime scene. He said the police were further probing into the circumstances and motive behind the incidents. He said teams of police personnel were formed to trace the assailants.

The police complaint was lodged by Jatiya Sangrami Sena, Asom, in Sivsagar district on Friday, demanding unconditional apology from Moitra for relating the ‘Gogoi’ surname to sexual harassment in a tweet.

In the FIR, Pranab Chetia, President of the organisation’s Sivasagar unit, wrote: “It has been observed that her (Moitra’s) Twitter comment is deliberately replacing the word sexual harassment with the word Mr. Gogoi, which is a clear intention to defame and disregard an established ethnic community of Assam, and hence I urge the law of the land to protect the sanctity, integrity and respect of the Ahom community and bring Mohua Moitra to justice.”

The Trinamool Lok Sabha MP sparked a row when she posted on her Twitter handle: “My first of new Twitter series on replacements for unparliamentary words. Banned word – Sexual Harassment Replacement – Mr. Gogoi.”

Mahua was referring to the row erupted over the reported ‘banning’ of some words from use in the Parliament, though the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla categorically denied that any such change has been made

Moitra’s tweet irked many netizens in Assam as the surname Gogoi is very common within the Ahom community of the state.

National award-winning movie critic Utpal Borpujari openly criticised Moitra for her remarks and advised her to mention the name of the specific person whom she had in mind.

Later, in another tweet, the Trinamool MP wrote: “Just for those sanghis twisting tweet to say I targeted all Gogois, let me spell it out: Mister Ranjan Gogoi. Honourable MP, Rajya Sabha.”

NEW DELHI: The BJP took on the opposition, especially the Congress, over the issue of unparliamentary words on Thursday and said it is trying to create an issue where none exists.

Opposition parties have slammed the government, saying the new list of unparliamentary words is meant to gag the criticism of the Centre’s functioning.

Citing Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s remarks over the issue, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra said the speaker has presented the facts and cleared all illusions created by the opposition.

The speaker has clearly stated that no word has been banned and that certain words would be expunged on the basis of its context, he pointed out.

Hitting out at the opposition, Patra said several political parties, including Congress, are trying to mislead the country and creating an issue where none exists.

The opposition on Thursday went straight for the government’s jugular over the “gag order” on using certain words in Parliament, insisting indignantly every expression used by them to describe how the BJP was destroying India has now been declared unparliamentary.

The clamour forced Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to step in to soothe frayed tempers by making it clear no word has been banned from use in Parliament but will be expunged on a contextual basis.

Members are free to express their views while maintaining decorum of the House, he said.

The opposition was brimming with anger after a new booklet by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Wednesday the use of terms like ‘jumlajeevi’, ‘baal buddhi’, ‘Covid spreader’, ‘Snoopgate’ and even commonly used words like ‘ashamed’, ‘abused, ‘betrayed’, ‘corrupt’, ‘drama’, ‘hypocrisy’ and ‘incompetent’ will henceforth be considered unparliamentary in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi derisively termed the compilation the “New Dictionary for New India”.

“Words used in discussion and debates which correctly describe the PM’s handling of the government, now banned from being spoken.”

“Example of an unparliamentary sentence: ‘Jumlajeevi Tanashah shed Crocodile Tears when his lies and incompetence were exposed’,” he said.

An angry Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “All words used by the Opposition to describe the reality of Modi Sarkar now to be considered ‘unparliamentary’. What next Vishguru”.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien showed even greater belligerence, declaring he will use those words and dared the government to act against him.

“Session begins in a few days. GAG ORDER ISSUED ON MPs.”

“Now, we will not be allowed to use these basic words while delivering a speech in #Parliament : Ashamed. Abused. Betrayed. Corrupt. Hypocrisy. Incompetent. I will use all these words. Suspend me. Fighting for democracy,” the TMC leader said.

As the political temperature soared, Speaker Om Birla hastened to address the issue.

“No word has been banned. Members are free to express their views. No one can snatch that right, but it should be as per decorum of Parliament,” Birla told reporters.

The Speaker rejected the criticism that the BJP-led government at the Centre was behind the selection of ‘unparliamentary’ words and asserted that legislatures are independent of any government and the executive cannot give instructions to Parliament.

“It is a routine practice continuing since 1954,” he said referring to the release of the booklet that lists words and expressions deemed unparliamentary.

The Speaker’s clarification, however, failed to cut ice with Congress.

“Clarification from @ombirlakota about ‘unparliamentary’ words doesn’t mean much. In all discussions, media seems to have overlooked that they can’t report on these comments in their dispatches. Also, print media will have to think twice before using these words in their articles,” Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

Birla said words chosen for expunging have been used by members of the ruling party as well as the opposition.

Several words and expressions, even those used commonly, get routinely expunged during legislative proceedings if a member protests and the presiding officer finds them inapt in a particular context.

Taking on those who have been criticising the booklet, Birla said they should have read the 1100-page dictionary comprising unparliamentary words.

Had they read it they would not have spread misconception.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat’s list of unparliamentary words also says some terms may not be deemed unparliamentary unless read in conjunction with the other expressions spoken during the parliamentary proceedings.

The booklet says any aspersions made against the Chair in both the houses, in any language, shall be considered unparliamentary and expunged from the records of Parliament.

Some officials also sought to smooth ruffled feathers, saying “it is not a suggestion or order”, as these terms have been already expunged by presiding officers of Parliament and state legislatures.

They said the words were considered unparliamentary even when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

Sources in Parliament said 62 new words have been added to the list during the last year and some of these may be under review.

Government sources said the list is not a new suggestion, but merely a compilation of words already expunged in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or state legislatures.

It also contains words considered unparliamentary in parliaments of the Commonwealth countries, they said.

“If certain words are found objectionable and not in consonance with decorum and dignity of Parliament, it is under the jurisdiction of the Chair of either houses to expunge those words,” a Lok Sabha source said.

Government sources pointed out the word ‘abused’ was considered unparliamentary in the House of Representatives of Australia, while ‘childishness’ was frowned upon in Qubec’s National Assembly.

They said the phrases ‘lollipops in the budget’ and ‘you have reached here telling a lie’ were expunged from the proceedings of the Punjab Assembly.

Even a word as harmless as ‘asatya’ (untruth) was expunged from the records of the Rajasthan assembly in 2021.

“I don’t see a situation similar to Sri Lanka happening in India, as our economy isn’t dependent on just a few industries like Sri Lanka. The tourism industry on which the Sri Lankan economy was largely dependent, suffered a huge jolt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the Sri Lankan tea market too was adversely hit. I don’t see similar things happening in India, as our economy isn’t just based on a few industries,” Sinha told journalists in Bhopal on Thursday.

He, however, added that what is concerning is the continuous decline in the Indian Rupee to the US Dollar.

“Never have I seen such steady depreciation in the value of the rupee as it’s happening presently. During the tenure of the present Prime Minister, the Indian Rupee has suffered the steepest fall against the US Dollar, from 58.44 in 2014 to 79.86 as I speak. This has badly hit the common people reflected through an unprecedented increase in prices of essentials, like the LPG gas cylinder, which was priced at Rs 410 in 2014, but has risen by around 300 per cent to Rs 1129 presently.”

“What is even more worrying is the fact that our robust foreign exchange reserves are fast depleting. “Till a few days ago, our country’s huge foreign exchange reserve was pegged at 641 Billion Dollars, but the RBI has had to spend 45 Billion Dollars out of that to save the sliding rupee. I’m only hoping that the global conditions don’t become such that there is a run on the rupee. As far as I know, you can never fight the market, if the market is determined to take Rupee’s value to 85 to one US Dollar, then you can’t fight it. We’re faced with a crisis situation, where our huge foreign exchange reserves are depleting very fast,” Sinha maintained.

While speaking about his opponent in the presidential election, the NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu, the former union minister said, “There is nothing in the President’s post, why doesn’t PM Modi appoint her the country’s Prime Minister.”

He further said, “If the BJP leadership was so committed to tribal empowerment, why didn’t they choose a tribal leader for the presidential election from Madhya Pradesh, which has the largest tribal population in the country.”