Parliament adjourned for day on farmers issue

New Delhi, Feb 28 (UNI) Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day today on the farmers issue as the opposition continued to disrupt the proceedings, demanding waiver of farmers' loans.

However, the Economic Survey was tabled in both Houses before the adjournment.

While the Lok Sabha will meet tomorrow at 1100 hrs for the presentation of Budget 2008-09, the Rajya Sabha will meet at 1300 hrs.

Opposition members were on their feet as soon as both the Houses re-assembled at 1200 hrs after the first adjournment, demanding that the farmers' loans be waived off. The pandemonium in both the Houses forced the presiding officers to adjourn them for the day.

Earlier, both the Houses had been adjourned immediately after the proceedings began at 1100 hrs.

In the Rajya Sabha, opposition members, including the BJP-led NDA, staged noisy scenes on the farmers' issue and implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee. The Opposition members also shouted slogans dubbing the Government ''anti-farmer''.

The pleas of Chairman Hamid Ansari to the Opposition to maintain order and allow the Question Hour to proceed went in vain as they continued to stage noisy protests. The Chairman later adjourned the House till 1200 hrs.

In the Lok Sabha too, members of the NDA, SP, BSP, TDP and the AGP trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans like ''Kisan ka poora karza maf karo (Waive off farmers' loans). They were supported by the Left Parties.

However, RJD members raised the issue of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray's anti-north Indian diatribe.

After Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's pleas to members to restore order went in vain, he adjourned the House till 1200 hrs.

Proceedings in Parliament were disrupted for the third consecutive day today.

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