DIN CONTINUES IN PARLIAMENT ON THIRD DAY OF BUDGET SESSION

NEWDELHI: The Parliament failed to transact any business for the third straight day on Wednesday, with the Opposition disrupting proceedings in both Houses over the fraud in Punjab National Bank (PNB), demands for special category status for Andhra Pradesh and formation of the Cauvery Board to settle the river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The vandalising of statues in some states, including one of Dravidian icon Thanthai Periyar in Tamil Nadu, also led to a furore in the Lok Sabha, where the Congress stuck to its demand for a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ₹12,600 crore alleged bank fraud involving jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Members of various parties, including Tamil Nadu’s ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Andhra Pradesh’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress, West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena, began raising slogans as soon as the Lok Sabha session began.

Shiv Sena continued to demand that Marathi be designated as a classical language. Shiv Sena member Anandrao Adsul said, “Several of our members have raised this issue repeatedly. We have given our submission to the home minister but our demand has not been fulfilled.”

Home minister Rajnath Singh said the demand would be looked into.

A meeting convened by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan for smooth functioning of the House remained inconclusive, with the Opposition pressing its demand for an adjournment motion to discuss the PNB fraud. “We are ready to discuss all issues,” minister of state for parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel said.

Amid protests, chairman of the upper house Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the session saying the government was ready for debate on all the issues raised by the various parties.