Andhra MPs force 2 adjournments in LS

New Delhi/Andhra Pradesh, Aug 2: Members of NDA partner TDP and the opposition YSR Congress today forced brief adjournments of Lok Sabha proceedings creating noisy scenes demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh.

This was the second consecutive day of their vociferous protests which drew the ire of the Speaker who said sloganeering will not help meet their demand. As soon as the House met for the day, members from YSR Congress trooped into the Well holding placards, demanding special category for Andhra Pradesh following the creation of Telangana.

Led by an MP wearing traditional attire including a yellow headgear, TDP members entered the House holding banners. Standing at the aisles, they refrained from entering the Well. However, the member wearing the headgear was seen moving around the Well, wishing leaders of various parties sitting on front benches with folded hands.

An anguished Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reminded the members against displaying placards. "Raise your issue during Zero Hour. Doing like this will not solve your problem...I am sorry for your behaviour," she said.

TDP is unhappy at the Narendra Modi government for not providing the desired funds to Andhra Pradesh after Telangana was carved out of it. The fissures between BJP and TDP are being seen as so serious that there is speculation that the party led by N Chandrababu Naidu could even walk out of the NDA.

The unruly scenes continued when the papers were laid at noon and Zero Hour taken up, with Speaker asking the protesting members to return to their seats, telling them that she will allow them to raise the issue if they went back.

"You have to go. You won't get anything from here," she said. But TDP and YSR Congress members remained unrelenting, forcing Mahajan to adjourn the House for about 15 minutes. When the House reassembled, Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai again adjourned the proceedings till 1245 hours.

PTI