LS, RS adjourned over some MPs wearing T-shirts with slogans

New Delhi: the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments as several members came to the House wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla objected to the DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, and said such actions were against the rules of procedure of the House.
Birla adjourned the proceedings till noon. Similar scenes were witnessed when the House reconvened at 12 noon and TDP member Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.
Tenneti also cited rules and said the behaviour of members was unacceptable.
DMK members were wearing white T-shirts with slogans ‘#fairdelimitation Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win’ written on them.
“House functions with rules and procedures. Members have to maintain the dignity and honour of the House. But some MPs are not following the rules and violating the dignity which is not acceptable,” Birla said when the House met at 11 am.
The Speaker directed those members, who came wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, to go out of the House and come back with proper dress maintaining dignity.
DMK members have been trying to raise the issue of delimitation in the Lok Sabha, but Speaker had rejected their pleas contending that the issue is nowhere on the government radar as the census of population was yet to be conducted.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as soon as it reconvened at 2 pm on Thursday amid a row over DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them earlier in the day.
The proceedings of the Upper House witnessed three adjournments during the pre-lunch period over the issue.
“The House stands adjourned to meet at 11 am on Friday, 21st March,” Deputy Chairman Harivansh informed members.
Earlier in the day, soon after laying of papers, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings for an hour till 12 noon and called a meeting of floor leaders of various parties.
However, the deadlock over the issue continued and when the House reassembled at 12 noon, deputy Chairman Harivansh announced that the proceedings had been adjourned again for another 15 minutes.
At 12.15, he again came and announced that the House stands adjourned till 2 pm, amid the deadlock.
While the chairman did not cite any reason for the adjournment, the issue of DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them has been objected to by the chairman.
He discussed the issue with floor leaders of all parties, where several leaders were in favour of the smooth functioning of the House.