Uproar over prices: Both Houses adjourned

The issue of high prices of essential food items rocked Parliament on Tuesday. The uproar forced Speaker Meira Kumar to adjourn the Lok Sabha for the day after a furious opposition demanded top priority to a discussion on the issue.

Meira Kumar first adjourned the house till noon after opposition MPs including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) demanded that their adjournment motion be accepted and all other businesses of the house postponed to discuss the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities.

The din continued when the House resumed at 12 and the speaker adjourned the house for the day amid noisy scenes. Earlier, when the house assembled for the day Meira Kumar introduced Sushma Swaraj of the BJP as the new Leader of Opposition. "I extend a warm welcome to her," the speaker said. Meira Kumar also thanked former leader of the opposition L K Advani for his support in running the house.

Swaraj returned the compliment to the Speaker but said she was compelled to move an adjournment motion "because the government has been sleeping over the price rise issue". "I am sorry but the people are suffering. We want discussion on top priority basis. All the businesses should be delayed. The price rise is the most important issue," Swaraj said. "Please accept my adjournment motion. We will allow the house to function but price rise should be discussed first."

Other opposition members shouted slogans against the government forcing the Speaker to adjourn the house.

In Rajya Sabha, the rising prices forced two adjournments, the second one for the day, with an agitated opposition demanding that the issue be discussed as a "substantial motion".

The trouble began as soon as the House assembled for the day at 11 a.m. with Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding that the issue be discussed under rules 167 and 168 which entail voting and recording of the sense of the house. He said the opposition had moved two motions: one for suspension of the question hour and the other for a discussion on the price rise issue.

With the opposition and the ruling Congress MPs engaged in verbal barracking, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Hamid Ansari said there had been a consensus on a discussion but not on the procedure. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan attempted to intervene but was shouted down, prompting Ansari to adjourn the house at 11.10 am till noon. The din continued when the House reassembled and Deputy chairman K Rehman Khan called for official papers to be laid. He then adjourned the house for the day.

- Asian Tribune -