Upheaval over price rise disturbs Lok Sabha

vIndianz.com (16 Dec, 2009) — The Lok Sabha was adjourned two times Wednesday when MPs from different parties cornered the government on the matter of price rise.

As the house reassembled after the first adjournment, MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Left parties, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Biju Janata Dal gathered near Speaker Meira Kumar’s podium shouting slogans like “Mehngai pe rok lagao (Contain inflation)” and “Yeh sarkar badalni hai (this government has to be changed)”.

When the mayhem sustained, the speaker adjourned the house till 12 noon. The problem had begun as soon as the house met at 11 am with MPs from the Left parties and the SP upsetting question hour on the subject of price rise.

The speaker asked them to uphold etiquette and reminded them that price rise was debated on November 26. Nevertheless, the MPs continued to agitate, forcing the speaker to adjourn the house till 11:30 am.

The morning had started with a protest outside the house – at the gates of Parliament House – by the Left parties and SP MPs. Amongst those at the protest at the main gate of parliament were SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, Communist Party of India-Marxist’s MP Brinda Karat and Communist Party of India’s Gurudas Dasgupta.

They would carry on the protests both inside and outside parliament, the leaders said. “We will take the issue to the streets. We will force the government to amend its policy, or else we will change this anti-people government,” said Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The protesters demanded universalization of the public distribution system (PDS) and control on prices of necessary commodities. They in addition desire to bring essential commodities under the PDS at subsidized rates.

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