The Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has removed an extra 30-minute break given for Namaz on Fridays in Rajya Sabha. Dhankhar, has gone ahead and removed extra 30-minute break given for Namaz on Fridays in Rajya Sabha and has changed rules. Explaining the position, Dhankar said that parliament has members from all communities, and there can’t be a specific exception for Muslim parliamentarians only. The house chairman said that the Friday timing has been changed to match it with Lok Sabha. Notably, there is no ‘namaz’ break on Fridays in Lok Sabha and this practice was in the Rajya Sabha only. “Lok Sabha sits at 2 PM. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, being integral part of Parliament, need to adhere to the same time to the extent possible and, therefore, it was 2 PM on an earlier occasion as directed by me. So, this is not a beginning today”, he said.
DMK MP M. Mohamed Abdulla intervened to object to the decision. He said, “ this has been the practice for such a long time, for 60-70 years.” He continued, “Sir, 2.30 PM was fixed for the purpose of Muslim Members for their jumma on Fridays. It was the practice.”However, VP Dhankar said that parliament has members from all communities, and there can’t be a specific exception for Muslim parliamentarians only. He said, “Hon. Members, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have Members drawn from all sections of the society. Lok Sabha sits at 2 PM. There are Members from every segment. Consciously, after due deliberation, I had effected it, indicated to the House and this was already in place in the last Session. It was stated that the House will meet after lunch at 2 p.m. being in conformity with the timeframe indicated by Lok Sabha.” After the chairman reiterated that this change in timing was implemented in the last session and it was already explained to the members, there were no more protests from the members. However, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha published on the Sansad Website has not been updated yet, and the 2016 edition document still shows extra lunch break of 30 minutes on Fridays.