Opposition stages walkout from Rajya Sabha

The Opposition led by Congress staged a walkout on Thursday from the Rajya Sabha after Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was not allowed to quote from a "memoir" of former Army chief M M Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict.

Soon after papers were laid in the Upper House, the Chair called a member to raise his Zero Hour mention. Meanwhile, Congress members started demanding that Kharge be allowed to speak first.

Later, Treasury and Opposition benches got engaged in altercations after Kharge said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is not being allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Kharge also tried to highlight that the Lok Sabha was not running smoothly. He said both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha are pillars of democracy, and the ruling party was not letting democracy function.

His charges were vehemently opposed by the ruling party members. When Kharge tried to quote from the unpublished Naravane's book, it was opposed by members sitting on Treasury benches.

Amid uproar, members of several opposition parties -- Congress, TMC, AAP, CPI and CPI-M staged a walkout.