Lok Sabha adjourned over price rise issue

New Delhi, Feb 23 (ANI): The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon following an opposition uproar over the price rise issue.

Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Opposition said prices of vital commodities have gone up during the rule of the Congress led UPA government.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, "The debate should be held as per rule number 180 of the law."

"Prices of essential commodities are increasing day by day ," she added.

Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "Price rise has affected the common man."

The opposition also demanded a discussion to be held under Rule 167 and 168 of the law.

The Centre had earlier on Monday rejected the opposition demand for a discussion on the price rise through an adjournment motion that entails voting.t claimed that the price rise was 'more a failure' of the state governments and that the central government should not be blamed for this.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said the government is not afraid to face any motion.

"These discussions do not lie under (the purview of) adjournment motion," he said

"We are very confident. We are going to last for five years. There is no fear of anything. We are confident that our allies are with us. There is no problem," Bansal added.

Bansal said the government's objection was on a matter of principle, as the opposition was not playing as per rules governing the conduct of the House.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj met Speaker Meira Kumar and reiterated the opposition move to bring an adjournment motion on Tuesday and demand suspension of Question Hour.

Gopinath Munde, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha said, the party has already given notice for an adjournment motion and the Centre should not make it an ego issue.

"We will not allow the House to run if the adjournment motion is not accepted," added Munde.

Gurudas Dasgupta of Communist Party of India (CPI), Basudeb Acharia of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav also met the Speaker in this regard.

The key allies of the Congress led UPA government like Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have also sought a full-fledged debate on the price rise issue.

The Centre's contention is that the opposition parties could come up with cut motions when the motion to thank the President for her address would be voted upon.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha was also adjourned till noon following protests by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party as they targeted the Centre over its failure to check the price rise.

Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari had to adjourn proceedings in the House as the opposition were up on their feet seeking discussion under Rule 167 and 168.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had on Monday appealed to the Opposition to allow smooth functioning of the Parliament during the Budget Session.

"The Government is ready to discuss all issues in Parliament and I, therefore, appeal to the Opposition not to have any disruption of Parliamentary proceedings," said Dr Singh.

"Parliament is a forum for debate and the government is ready for it," he added. (ANI)