New Delhi: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Wednesday after the Opposition stalled proceedings several times over the issue of escalating prices.
Question Hour had to be adjourned twice in the morning after noisy protests by Opposition MPs, who gathered near Speaker Meira Kumar's podium, making it impossible for the proceedings to continue.
The protests were back at zero hour. The Speaker tried to conduct the business of the House and asked ministers to lay various papers. She also conducted some legislative business in the din, but ultimately gave up at about 1220 hrs IST and adjourned the House for the day.
When the House reassembled after the first adjournment during Question Hour, MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), the Left parties, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Biju Janata Dal gathered near the podium shouting slogans like "Mehngai pe rok lagao (Contain price rise)" and "Yeh sarkar badalni hai (This Government has to be changed)".
When the pandemonium continued, the Speaker adjourned the house till 1200 hrs IST.
As the unrest over price rise was on, members of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) raised placards for a "united Andhra Pradesh" while Congress MPs held up placards that said "Jai Telangana (Hail Telangana)".
The trouble had begun as soon as the house met at 1100 hrs IST with MPs from the Left parties and the SP disrupting Question Hour on the issue of price rise.
The Speaker asked them to maintain decorum and reminded them that price rise was debated on November 26. However, the MPs continued to agitate, forcing the speaker to adjourn the house till 1130 hrs IST.
The morning had started with a demonstration outside the house - at the gates of Parliament House - by MPs of the Left parties and SP.
Among those at the demonstration at the main gate of Parliament were SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, Communist Party of India-Marxist's MP Brinda Karat and Communist Party of India's Gurudas Dasgupta.
They would continue the protests both inside and outside Parliament, the leaders said.
"We will take the issue to the streets. We will compel the government to change its policy, otherwise we will change this anti-people government," said Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The protestors demanded universalisation of the public distribution system (PDS) and control on prices of essential commodities. They also want to bring essential commodities under the PDS at subsidised rates.
"When the price rise discussion happened in Parliament, the attendance of the Opposition ranks was abyssmal. It goes to show they are not interested in a serious discussion," said Congress Spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
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