Farmers’ issue rocks House
The first full working day of Parliament in the budget session was rocked on Tuesday from disruptions by the Opposition creating a pandemonium to press for discussion on the farmers agitating at the Delhi borders for the past 10 weeks.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu disallowed the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, noting every issue can be raised by the members in the course of the debate listed from Wednesday on a motion of thanks to the President for his address to the joint session last Friday.
Deputy chairman Harivansh (in pic) adjourned the House repeatedly, reiterating the Chairman’s advice to raise the issues in the debate on Wednesday. The House was finally shut for the day without any business after 4 adjournments.
The Lok Sabha that sat in the evening too witnessed uproar to press for the discussion on the agitating farmers. Speaker Om Birla started the question hour, saying the members can raise the farmers’ issue since 4-5 questions were listed for the day but sloganeering continued, forcing the first adjournment after 5 minutes.
The Speaker rejected all adjournment notices and told the agitating opposition members that he can allow Congress group leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to speak if others go back to their seats, but the ruckus continued. The House is not for slogans and banners, he said and further adjourned the House till 7pm, an hour before the end of the day’s sitting.
Chowdhury insisted on debate, pointing out 170 farmers have already died protesting at the Delhi borders, which cannot be ignored.
Braving the pandemonium, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar asserted the government is ready for debate on the farmers’ demands both in Parliament and outside. But for they preventing the Question Hour, many issues concerning the farmers would have been replied, he said.
The Opposition led by the Congress staged a walkout in the Upper House after the Chairman rejected the motion to suspend the business and discuss the farm issues. The opposition members, however, returned and created a pandemonium, forcing the adjournment.