The absence of cabinet ministers in the Rajya Sabha on Friday led to an uproar with the Opposition terming it an insult to the House.
The Upper House was adjourned briefly as the Congress and its allies questioned the seriousness of the cabinet ministers.
As the House assembled, it paid homage to those killed in the December 13, 2001, Parliament attack. When Chairperson C.P. Radhakrishnan tried to proceed with the listed business, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh drew attention to the absence of cabinet ministers.
“Please look at the front row. No cabinet minister is present. This is an insult to the House,” he said.
According to convention, at least one cabinet minister must be present when the House is in session.
Several MPs stood up to protest the absence of the ministers. Radhakrishnan asked minister of state for parliamentary affairs L. Murugan to call the cabinet ministers. The Chairperson then adjourned the House for 10 minutes.
When the House reassembled, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, leader of the House J.P. Nadda, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, foreign minister S. Jaishankar and agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan came in.
Rijiju regretted the absence of the ministers, saying he was in the Lok Sabha to move an adjournment motion since former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Vishwanath Patil passed away on Friday morning. Rijiju said Nadda was in the Lok Sabha since he had to answer questions related to the health ministry.