LS adjourns for the day amid Oppn protests over farmers'' issues

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20 

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Thursday after opposition repeatedly disrupted the proceedings by raising slogans on the plight of farmers and related issues.

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The adjournment for the day was announced by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan soon after the House resumed business at noon for the Zero Hour after two consecutive adjournments forced by the opposition members who stormed the Well and raised slogans.

When House assembled for the day and took up the Question Hour, opposition members, mostly from the Congress, trooped into the Well raising slogans saying the Prime Minister should respond to the concerns over farmers' plight and the agrarian crisis.

Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the Lok Sabha had concluded a discussion on the issue by sitting late last night.

But as the slogan-shouting continued, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was forced to adjourn the house till 11.30 AM, just about ten minutes after it had assembled at 11 AM.

When the House resumed business at 11.30 AM, the opposition members belonging to Congress, TMC, Left and other parties again trooped into the Well and started raising slogans pressing for their demands.

As the unruly scenes continued, the Speaker appealed to the protestors to return to their seats and then adjourned the House till noon.

However, when the House resumed to take up different issues during the Zero Hour, the opposition members again came into the Well raising slogans.

Holding placards, some members, who are part of the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), trooped into Well demanding a CBI probe into the gutkha (a tobacco product) scam.

A minister in the Tamil Nadu government, which is run by AIADMK (Amma) group, and some officials have come under the scanner for alleged bribery to facilitate the sale of banned gutkha in the state.

Sensing the Opposition mood and as it became difficult to continue the business of the House amidst the noisy scenes, the Speaker called for the listed papers to be tabled and then adjourned the House for the day. —With PTI inputs