Rajya Sabha, which has seen continuous disruptions during the monsoon session, witnessed some lighter moments on Friday morning when Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar sought 'Guru Dakshina' from Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda.
Dhankhar, who was Hooda's guardian at the Mayo College, asked the Congress leader to buy a birthday gift for RJD MP Manoj Jha. Besides Jha, the Chairman extended birthday greetings to Venkataramana Rao Mopidevi (YSRCP) and Imran Pratapgarhi (Congress). The Chairman informed the House he had a "distinction and and privilege" of being Hooda's guradin at Mayo College.
"So as a Guru Dakshina, Hooda will give a gift on my behalf from his pocket to Prof Jha by the end of the Day...compliance will be ensured by Sushil Kumar Gupta (AAP)," he said, amid laughters and thumping of benches in the House. Guru Dakshina is an ancient Indian tradition of repaying one's teacher after completing education.
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Jha has two daughters, the Chairman said. "That puts me in the same club as that of Prof Jha, the daughters' club". Earlier, when Dhankhar was extending birthday greeting to Mopidevi there were sloganeering by ruling and opposition MPs over Rajasthan and Manipur issue.
"If we can't greet our members on birthday, can't keep the House in order, that is not very wholesome," he said. The sloganeering stopped and the House extended birthday greetings to the three Rajya Sabha MPs.
Soon after, there were heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches. The ruling side raised the law and order situation in Rajasthan, while the opposition insisted on discussing the Manipur violence. The chair adjourned the proceedings for about 30 minutes till 12 noon. But similar scenes were witnessed when the House reassembled.
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Ruling party members were raising slogans like "Rajasthan pe charcha ho" (discuss Rajasthan) and the opposition chanted "Manipur, Manipur" while seeking to discuss the violence in the northeastern state. The Chair then adjourned the proceedings till 11 AM on August 7.
