Rajya Sabha chair pulls up minister for arriving late for reply

New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha chair on Thursday pulled up Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju for not coming on time for a calling attention motion, with Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien asking him to take parliamentary work more seriously.

The Rajya Sabha was to take up a calling attention motion on the law and order in Delhi at 2 p.m. but when the house met after lunch neither Home Minister Rajnath Singh, nor any of the ministers of state from his ministry was present. The opposition objected to this.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the minister had submitted a statement on the matter, but the opposition members said they did not get copies.

Kurien said the calling attention motion could not be taken up unless either of the ministers from the home ministry was present.

"If the home minister was not able to be present or the MoS was not able to be present, why was it not intimidated to the chair?" Kurien asked.

Within minutes, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju reached the upper house, and was pulled up by the chair.

"Mr Home Minister, you should take parliamentary work more seriously. 2 p.m. is your calling attention (motion); you should have been here exactly at 2," Kurien said before the discussion was taken up.