Both Houses disrupted over fuel price hike

 

New Delhi: For the  second-day in a row  both the  houses of the Parliament  on Wednesday witnessed disruption in the proceedings  on account  of steep  hike  in fuel prices and  were   adjourned  for  sometime during the early hours of business.

In the Rajya Saba the agitated members displayed placards and shouted slogans demanding suspension of other business to discuss hike. The  Lok Sabha proceedings  too were  adjourned  for about 20 minutes   as opposition members protested  the spiraling-up of  oil and cooking gas prices  and staged a  brief  walk-out  from the house.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu disallowed the demand for suspension and said the members can raise the matter during other discussion on demand for grants.  He also did not allow the suspension under rule 267 when Leader of Opposition M Mallikarajun Kharge tried to raise the issue.

Sensing the mood of the house, Naidu then adjourned the proceedings for nearly an hour shortly after 11.000am when the house met for the day.  The Question Hour later functioned smoothly.

Congress, Left and Samajwadi Party leaders wanted their notices admitted under rule 267, requiring setting aside of the listed business of the day to take up the issue of rise in prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas LPG, kerosene and other essential commodities like pulses and edible oils.

Ramgopal Yadav (SP), Mallikarjun Kharge, Shaktisinh Gohil, Syed Naseer Hussain and K C Venugopal (all Congress) and Binoy Viswam (CPI) had given notices under rule 267.

In the Lok sabha as the Question Hour began, members from the Congress, DMK, TMC and other parties stormed the Well of the House, raised placards “janata ki roji roti par prahar” and showed  cooking gas price rising to Rs 1000.  They kept shouting “we want justice” and sought to block ministers’ sight by  placing  placards in front of them.

The opposition members began the protest soon after the House assembled for the day.  Members from the TRS, BSP and SP also joined the protest but remained on their seats.

The Congress members, who were most vocal were seen at the forefront of the protest and staying put in the well of the house. Amid the  bedlam  , Speaker Om Birla repeatedly urged the members to go back to their seats and allow the House to function.

With opposition refusing to relent, he adjourned the proceedings  till 12 noon.

Intervening from the treasury benches,   Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal alleged that the opposition has no commitment for the development of Jammu and Kashmir and their "discrimination" against the Union Territory continues as before.

Goyal made the allegations in Lok Sabha after an MP from Jammu and Kashmir, Hasnain Masoodi, could not  ask a supplementary question during the Question Hour due to the protests and sloganeering by the opposition over the fuel price hike.

"This shows their (opposition) commitment towards Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress and its allies have been discriminating against Jammu and Kashmir for years and they are doing the same even now. They are not allowing an MP from Jammu and Kashmir to ask a question," Goyal said.

However, the unrelenting opposition continued their protests in the Well of the House. (Agencies)