MPs dismayed by weavers? ruckus

DIFFERENCES AMONG the weavers came to the fore during their interaction with the Parliamentary Standing Committee, headed by Andhra Pradesh MP, SS Reddy. The Parliamentary Committee members interacted with the weavers at a hotel on Saturday morning, as part of their efforts to know the problems being faced by them. Though some weavers raised important issues, others created a ruckus and resorted to heated arguments and quarrels.

DIFFERENCES AMONG the weavers came to the fore during their interaction with the Parliamentary Standing Committee, headed by Andhra Pradesh MP, SS Reddy.

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The Parliamentary Committee members interacted with the weavers at a hotel on Saturday morning, as part of their efforts to know the problems being faced by them. Though some weavers raised important issues, others created a ruckus and resorted to heated arguments and quarrels.

One weaver leader, Mohd Illyas, who claimed to be a Congress leader, even threatened the Parliamentary delegation of converting Varanasi into Assam and Kashmir if weavers’ problems were not addressed at the earliest. He even went to the extent of saying that weavers’ children would be compelled to pick up guns.

There were times when nothing could be heard in the din, forcing one of the MPs, Chanderdev Prakash Rajber to express anguish at the behaviour of the weavers. “I am ashamed at the atmosphere created here, which is not the culture of Varanasi,” Rajbhar said.

He explained to the weavers that the Parliamentary Committee had specially come to hear their grievances and would accordingly recommend a favourable policy to the government.