'Shameful': Rajnath, top ministers slam opposition for RS mayhem

New Delhi: The government fronted six of its top ministers to launch a scathing attack on the opposition on Sunday as Rajnath Singh said the behaviour meted out to the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha was not just "unprecedented" but "shameful". He also said that as far as the no confidence motion against Harivansh Singh is concerned, it is the prerogative of the Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu.

"As far as I know, this has never happened in the history of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. This very thing happening in Rajya Sabha is an even bigger matter. There have been attempts made to mislead the farmers on the basis of rumours. What happened (inside the house) was against the decorum of the House," said the Union Defence Minister without taking names of any members.

The upper house saw a massive ruckus on Sunday. An aggressive Derek O'Brien of the TMC, approached the Chair and tore documents in front of him calling the farm bill "Kala Kanoon". He was also heard saying, "You cannot do this" to the chair. Even AAP MP Sanjay Singh was seen in the well, clapping in front of the chair.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi dubbed the approach of the opposition as "violent behaviour". Answering the opposition's charge that their division of votes request was not entertained, Naqvi claimed inspite of repeated requests many members did not return to their seats, a prerequisite for the procedure as sought by the Chair.

Rajnath said he is also a farmer and reiterated that neither MSP, nor APMC systems are going to end. While refusing to comment on Harsimrat Kaur's resignation from the Union Cabinet, Singh said, "There are some political reasons behind every such decision".

Six senior ministers were present in the press conference. Apart from Singh and Naqvi, Prakash Javadekar, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Piyush Goyal and Prahlad Joshi were also present during the media interaction.