New Delhi, Mar 24 (UNI) The Lok Sabha was adjourned until 2 PM on Monday following an uproar in the House over reported remarks made by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar regarding Muslim reservation.
When the House reconvened at 12, Presiding Officer Jagdambika Pal initiated the proceedings and asked the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to speak.
The Minister said, “The issue raised in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is not an ordinary issue but a very serious issue”.
Rijiju said, “A senior Congress leader holding a Constitutional position is saying that Muslims will be given reservation and that the Constitution will be amended accordingly.”
He said, “The Constitution does not give any reservation on the basis of religion”.
Rijiju mentioned that in 1947, when the Muslim League proposed reservation for Muslims in the Constituent Assembly, Sardar Patel and other members rejected it, asserting that reservations should not be based on religion.
“We cannot accept that a person sitting in a Constitutional position speaking of giving reservation to Muslims by changing the Constitution. The Congress should make its position clear and if you believe in the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar then you should immediately sack that person,” Rijiju said.
As the ruckus continued, the Chair adjourned the House till 2 PM.
Earlier, The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon due to protests by some opposition members, who were carrying posters.
