Rajya Sabha adjourned as Congress protests against Goa Governor’s role

New Delhi, March 17 : Opposition Congress on Friday forced an adjournment of Rajya Sabha proceedings over the conduct of the Goa Governor in inviting the BJP to form the government in the state after she reportedly consulted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Congress members alleged breach of propriety and constitutional norms in the consultations Goa Governor Mridula Sinha held with Jaitley. They stormed into the Well of the House raising slogans against “murder of democracy”, forcing Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn the House till noon.
Earlier, when the House met for the day, Digvijaya Singh (Congress) said he had given a notice under Rule 267 seeking setting aside of the business of the day to take up “gross constitutional impropriety committed by the Governor of Goa”.
Singh read out from an interview Sinha gave to a newspaper in which she reportedly said she did not expect the BJP to form the government but spoke to Jaitley before arriving at the decision to call the party to form the government ahead of the Congress, which had emerged as the single largest party in elections.
Kurien said the conduct of a Governor could be discussed only on the basis of a substantive motion and he had disallowed Singh’s notice.