Question hour cancelled in both houses
Both houses of parliament were adjourned till 12 noon on Tuesday forcing cancellation of the crucial question hour for the second successive day.
Both houses of parliament were adjourned till 12 noon on Tuesday forcing cancellation of the crucial question hour for the second successive day.
Trouble began as soon the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha met for the day's proceedings at 11 a.m. Opposition members rose from their seats, demanding that the question hour be suspended so that debates on price rise and corruption could be held.
Chairman Hamid Ansari immediately adjourned the Rajya Sabha.
In the Lok Sabha, speaker Meira Kumar made obituary references to pay tributes to two former MPs who died during the inter-session period.
However, when she called for questions to be laid, opposition MPs were on their feet, demanding that discussions on graft and inflation be held first.
With the parliament business being stalled for the second day of the month-long session, it appears that the government and opposition are headed for another stalemate.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition has already indicated that it will seek answers from the government on rising prices, corruption and terrorist attacks.
Both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parties and the Left have demanded discussion on these issues as per the rule that entails voting and make the recommendations binding on the government.
"Discussion under rules that entail voting will make the government take a committed stand to deal with price rise," Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury said.
The Left parties have already given a notice in this regard, he said.
The BJP has also sought answers on the 2G scam from both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram after jailed former IT and communications minister A. Raja dragged them into the scandal, saying he had kept them informed with every decision he had taken in issuing telecom spectrum licences.