Lok Sabha adjourned over new poverty line norm

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for an hour today after opposition members created a ruckus over the government's new concept of people living on less than Rs.28 per day in urban areas and Rs 22.50 in rural areas being below the poverty line.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for an hour on Wednesday morning after opposition members created a ruckus over the government's new concept of people living on less than Rs.28 per day in urban areas and Rs 22.50 in rural areas being below the poverty line.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs led the disruption of the crucial question hour soon after the house met for the day at 11am.

Amid noisy scenes, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house till 12 noon.

The opposition MPs were protesting the Planning Commission's data released on Monday that showed that poverty had significantly declined between 2004-05 and 2009-10.

It said poor were the ones who spend less than Rs 28 per day in urban areas and Rs 22.50 in rural areas.

The new poverty line is lower than the earlier Rs 32-per-day mark that had triggered outrage when the government submitted it to the Supreme Court last year.