The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day once again amid uproar by Opposition parties on Friday. The Rajya Sabha will next meet on Monday while the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Tuesday. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced a holiday for the Lower House members on Monday on account of Ramnavami.
Members of the Telugu Desam Party shouted slogans demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in the day, YSR Congress Party members staged a protest outside the Gandhi statue in Parliament. The Congress members blamed the Centre for not engaging the Opposition and addressing the problems.
Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu said the three-week-long disruption had no justification. “How long do you want to justify the present wrong based on past?” he asked. “People of the country are aspiring for change. Should the change not begin from the Rajya Sabha? If you are not interested in running of this House, it is another matter.”
Proceedings in Lok Sabha were also disrupted after protests by legislators of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telangana Rashtra Samithi. While the AIADMK members trooped to the well of the House demanding that the Cauvery Management Board be set up immediately, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi lawmakers shouted slogans asking the Centre to give the state the right to determine the proportion of reservations.
Congress MLAs also protested against the Supreme Court’s judgment that protects a public servant from being arrested under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act without a preliminary inquiry and an approval. The Congress wanted the Centre to seek a review of the order.
This is the 15th straight day that the Question Hour session in Lok Sabha has been washed out. Only eight days are left in the 23-day ongoing Budget session.
On Thursday, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel had said that he will meet Opposition leaders at their respective residences to end the deadlock in Parliament. However, Goel did not confirm any date.
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