Parliament: Both Houses Adjourned Again as Opp Demands Debate on Price Rise, GST
Representational image. | Image Courtesy: flickr
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for about an hour on Thursday as Opposition parties, led by the Congress, tried to raise the issues of price rise and levy of Goods and Services Tax on daily essentials.
In Rajya Sabha, Opposition party MPs carried placards with slogans against price rise and GST, and with prices of essential goods before and after the Narendra Modi government came to power.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu ordered that those carrying placards and other articles should be named in the House Bulletin with remarks that the Chair disapproved of their actions.
Later, he adjourned the proceedings till 12 pm.
The first three days of the monsoon session of Parliament have been washed out amid opposition protests. Thursday appeared no different with not even official listed papers laid on the table of the House.
When the House assembled for the day, Naidu greeted Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on his 80th birthday. Thereafter, Dharmasthala Heggade took oath as a member of the Upper House of Parliament.
Soon after, Opposition MPs were up on their feet trying to raise the issue of price rise and levy of GST on essential items like wheat, rice and curd.
Some carried placards and others packets of items on which GST was levied from July 18.
Sibal Suggests One Day a Week
Amid the logjam in Parliament, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Thursday suggested that the rules of procedure may be altered to have one day of the week for any matter the Opposition wishes to discuss with the government having no right to veto this.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have failed to transact any significant business so far since the Monsoon Session began on July 18 with the Opposition seeking a debate on price rise and GST on certain items of daily use.
"Logjam in Parliament. For a start: Alter rules of procedure: One day of the week for any matter the opposition wishes to discuss. Government should have no right to veto on this," Sibal said in a tweet.
"No legislation should be passed without discussion. On this opposition to cooperate," he said.
The Opposition has alleged that the functioning of Parliament is being affected because of the government's obstinacy to not allow its demand for a discussion on a hike in GST on certain daily use items and price rise.
"No placards, no articles," Naidu said. "I have to name those people... I order that names of those carrying placards should be mentioned in the House Bulletin and also mention that the chairman stated that this act was objectional."
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 11.30 am as the Opposition protested over rising prices and the Enforcement Directorate summons to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for questioning in a money laundering case.
As soon as the House met for the day, Opposition members sought to raise various issues and began shouting slogans.
Some Congress members displayed placards saying "Satyameva Jayate" with a photograph of Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress president has been summoned by the ED on Thursday for questioning in a money laundering case related to the National Herald.
Opposition members also protested against price rise.
As the din continued, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings till 11.30 am.
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