Congress MPs add to Telangana chorus, Lok Sabha disrupted

Wednesday February 23, 2011 05:48:00 PM, IANS

New Delhi: Noisy scenes led to repeated disruptions of the Lok Sabha Wednesday as some members, including from the ruling Congress, shouted slogans demanding that the government table a bill for creating separate Telangana state.

While the Lok Sabha witnessed chaos, peace prevailed in the Rajya Sabha as the upper house functioned normally according to schedule.

In the lower house, the chaos started after Congress members from the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh shouted for separate statehood. They were soon joined by members of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

A day after peaceful proceedings, the house witnessed three adjournments till 2 p.m.

TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, his colleague M. Vijaya Shanthi and the TDP's Ramesh Rathod repeatedly walked towards the presiding officer's podium to shout slogans and press for an adjournment motion.

Congress members Poonam Prabhakar, M. Jagannath, G. Vivekanand, Madhu Goud Yaskhi and Sarvey Satyanarayana were heard shouting "Jai Telangana" from their seats.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is not an elected member of the Lok Sabha, was attending the sitting, Speaker Meira Kumar tried to convince the protesting members that the issue could be raised during zero hour.

When MPs persisted with their noisy protests, the speaker adjourned the house barely 10 minutes after the day's sitting began at 11 a.m. for the crucial question hour.

Members returned to the house at 11.30 a.m., and so did noise.

Leader of Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sushma Swaraj intervened and demanded that the government bring a bill during the budget session to solve the protracted issue that has incited violence in Telangana.

She said the issue was too important to be ignored as life in the region has been paralysed for the second day over the demand for a bill for the formation of Telangana state.

"Why are the ruling MPs shouting slogans? This is because everything in Telangana is stuck, employees are on a pen-down strike... Nothing is working there and if anything functions, that is rubber bullets," she said.

The BJP leader said the matter could be "resolved right away if the prime minister promises that the Telangana bill will be brought to parliament in the ongoing budget session".

"We will get the bill passed with our members supporting it," she thundered, as protests grew louder forcing another disruption till noon.

The chaos returned when the house re-assembled at 12, and the speaker adjourned the house again till 2 p.m. after Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayanasamy failed in his attempts to calm tempers.

However, there were no protests after 2 p.m. as the house continued with its debate on the motion of thanks on President Pratibha Patil's address to the joint session Monday.

The TRS chief later told reporters outside parliament that his party would "continue to disrupt the house" till the government promises a timeframe to form Telangana state.

"The prime minister was present in the house, but he remained a silent spectator to our agitation. It is very unfortunate," he said.

In the Rajya Sabha, the day was comparatively peaceful.

The issue of corruption and 2G scam dominated the debate on the president's speech.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury blamed the government for failing to collect money from defaulting companies in the 2G spectrum scam, saying that the money could have been used in funding welfare schemes.

Congress member Rajiv Shukla countered the charges, suggesting that the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the 2G spectrum scam should probe into allocation of spectrum since 1998, when the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was in power. He also called for a probe in the disinvestment policies of the NDA government.

But there was a brief disruption in the morning as some Left party members raised the price rise issue in the light of trade unions' march to Parliament House Wednesday.

The march was against "steep rise in the prices of essential commodities, rampant violation in implementation of labour laws, plight of unorganised workers, and reckless contractorisation of employees."

The communist MPs were, however, pacified by Chairman M. Hamid Ansari and the question hour proceeded normally.

                                           Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

'How will they get back their 9 years'

Asks mother of 3 acquitted in Godhra case

Bibi Khatoon from Godhara district, Gujarat, is the  »

Forensic report on Godhra train burning dents Govt./VHP claims

Godhra train carnage: 31 convicted, 63 acquitted

Godhra verdict travesty of justice, says lawyer Prashant Bhushan

  Most Read

Vastanvi to remain as Rector, rules Darul Uloom Shura, but clips his wings

Darul Uloom Deoband shura has ruled that Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi will continue as vice chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband till a three-member subcommittee of clerics constituted Wednesday takes a final call on him. The Shura has also decided to clip his wings by appointing an acting rector.   »

Have resigned, but not under pressure: Deoband vice chancellor

National Conference to move resolution for solution of Kashmir issue

The ruling National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir will move a resolution in the forthcoming budget session of the state assembly seeking the resolution of the Kashmir issue at the earliest. The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party has held rallies and raised a pitch   »

  News Pick

Jamia is minority institution, rules Commission

The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Tuesday observed that the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) is a minority education  »

Mr. Minister! Jamia is our offspring

Bangladesh apex court to have first woman judge

Bangladesh is set to have its first woman judge at the Supreme Court. Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana is among four senior High Court judges elevated by President Zillur Rahman to the appellate division of the apex court.  »

India back on pre-recession growth path: World Bank

The Indian economy appears to be back to the growth trend before the global financial crisis with particularly strong GDP growth over the first half of the 2010-11 fiscal, but inflation is worrying, the World Bank has said. The Reserve Bank   »

Myth of Vibrant Gujarat

Nearly nine years after the carnage of Gujarat (Feb 2011), a perception has been created that Gujarat is developing with rapid strides, there is all peace and harmony and minorities are happy. Like ‘Shining India’ a word has been coined, ‘Vibrant Gujarat’. Nothing can be   »

New Zealand Quake: 75 bodies recovered, 300 still missing

Three hundred people are missing and 75 bodies have been recovered from the quake ravaged New Zealand city of Christchurch, local authorities said  »

New Zealand city shaken by earthquake, 65 killed