VP Walks Out of Parliament Meeting Amid Opposition-Government Standoff

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday left a meeting to discuss the weekly agenda midway, citing a lack of decorum amid arguments between the government and the Opposition over the agenda.

- 

It is a rare incident when the Chairman, who heads the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), leaves midway through the meeting. In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla had once refused to preside over proceedings after Opposition leaders refused to end disruptions.

A section of the Opposition said that a senior Congress leader, supported by others, was pressing for a debate on the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) controversy and threatened not to cooperate with the government on the latter's legislative business. But Dhankhar's office refuted the claim and said, "There was an overall lack of decorum."