UNPA members stage walkout in RS over farmers' issues

New Delhi, Mar 3 (UNI) The United Progressive Alliance(UNPA) members today staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha after disrupting its proceedings for about 15 minutes, protesting the ''fraud against the farmers'' in the Budget.

As soon as the House assembled for the day and the Chairman Hamid Ansari signalled for the Question Hour to begin, the members of the UNPA, stood up and started demanding vociferously that the government waive loans of all farmers instead of just the small and the marginal.

The Chair repeatedly requested them to go back to their seats and asked for the questions to be taken up. However, the supplementaries and the answers given by Ministers were lost in the din created by the UNPA members.

They were demanding an assurance from the government that the Swaminathan Committee Report of farmers would be implemented without any delay. It wanted a comprehensive package for farmers instead of the one time debt relief.

''Budget nahin, yeh dhokha hai''(It is not a budget but a fraud), they shouted.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Priyaranjan Dasmunsi tried to pacify them, saying that the issue agitating them was also a matter of concern for the government and assured that it would give serious consideration to the report.

However, the members continued to create noisy scenes. Finally, they came into the well of the House and further raised the pitch of their voices, at which point JD(U) member Sharad Yadav intervened, telling them that shouting would not help, and they should ask for debate on the serious issue in the House.

The members, while accepting his request stopped sloganeering, but walked out of the House, with Mr Siddiqui demanding that the Swaminathan Report should be implemented immediately.

UNI NAZ Mir KP1301