Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said notwithstanding the Bill on Weapons of Mass Destruction, passed in the Lok Sabha, the government has real weapons for 'mass distraction'. "Aided and abetted by a complicit media, pointless controversies over halal, hijab and azaan have driven away the focus from price rise," the Congress MP tweeted. As Parliament got adjourned on Thursday a day ahead of the schedule, the Congress MP said instead of adjourning the proceedings, the government should have had the courage to listen to a serious debate on fuel price rise and consumer inflation. "It's clear that GOI doesn't want to discuss prices at any price," Tharoor tweeted.
This time, the Rajya Sabha missed the 100% productivity landmark by a whisker, clocking 99.80% business during the Budget session. This was the third best performing session during the last 14 sessions since the Monsoon Session (243rd Session) of 2017.
The daily hike of petrol and diesel prices dominated Parliament sessions as opposition leaders staged protests over the skyrocketing price of fuel. Fuel prices have gone up by 10 per litre in the last 16 days. Responding to a debate on the Finance Bill, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the price rise was linked to the Russia-Ukraine war. "People have been asking 'how can you raise the fuel price?'.. It has nothing to do with elections... This war has an impact on all countries, supply chains are disrupted, particularly of crude oil," Sitharaman said.
{{/usCountry}}The daily hike of petrol and diesel prices dominated Parliament sessions as opposition leaders staged protests over the skyrocketing price of fuel. Fuel prices have gone up by 10 per litre in the last 16 days. Responding to a debate on the Finance Bill, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the price rise was linked to the Russia-Ukraine war. "People have been asking 'how can you raise the fuel price?'.. It has nothing to do with elections... This war has an impact on all countries, supply chains are disrupted, particularly of crude oil," Sitharaman said.
{{/usCountry}}As the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were in session, halal and azaan row hit Karnataka, which was already reeling under the hijab controversy.
Trinamool leaders on Thursday held a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex against the price rise. Between March 31 and April 7, the Congress took out a “Mehngai Mukt Bharat Abhiyan” protesting the price hike of essential commodities.