NEW DELHI, March 16 (PTI): Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm within two minutes of the proceedings commencing on Thursday as the Opposition and treasury benches remained at loggerheads over Rahul Gandhi’s democracy remarks and the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani issue.
Trinamool Congress members, with their mouths covered with a black ribbon, had gathered in the Well of the House as the proceedings got underway in the Lok Sabha.
BJP members from West Bengal were seen raising slogans against the Trinamool Congress over the school recruitment scam in the state, while other members of the ruling party were demanding an apology from Gandhi over his remarks in London.
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Congress members also trooped in the Well of the Lok Sabha raising slogans but they couldn’t be heard clearly in the din.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urged the members to allow the House to function.
“I want to run the House; I want to give you enough opportunities and time to speak. You have to go to your seats. You come to the well and then go outside and tell that you don’t get a chance to speak. This is not right,” he said.
The House has to function smoothly, Birla said, also gesturing at the members of the treasury benches to take their seats.
“You come to the Well and also demand discussion. You don’t want me to run the House. You do not want any discussion; you do not want any debate on the Budget. You just want to shout slogans. Parliament has dignity and we all have to maintain dignity,” he said.
With members unrelenting, Birla adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.
Since the start of the second leg of the Budget session, Lok Sabha has not been able to transacting any significant business.
Discussions on the demand for grants of various ministries and the budget for Jammu and Kashmir have been listed in the Lok Sabha.
During his interactions in London, Gandhi had alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a “full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions.
The remarks triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign interventions, and the Congress hitting back at the ruling party by citing instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising internal politics abroad.
