Ruckus in UP Assembly over sugarcane pricing delay

As soon as the House assembled this morning, leader of opposition and BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya charged the government with "betraying" the farmers by delaying the announcement of the SAP.

Later, BJP, Congress and RLD MLAs joined the protest and barged into the well of the house, carrying placards, asking the government to announce the SAP.

The Parliamentary Affairs minister Azam Khan regretted the stance of the opposition parties, which demanded the winter session of the House to be extended, were now disrupting the proceedings.

Maurya questioned the reasons for the delay, which he said was driving farmers to burn their crop. He also alleged that there was an effort to "hijack" the proceedings of the house at the behest of Azam Khan.

Amid the slogans, Khan was heard taking a dig at BSP, by saying that "the party which had compromised with the interest of farmers during the five years of its government and went on to sell the sugar mills to land mafia at throwaway prices and looted farmers had no right to speak up for them".

As some members tried to push through the marshals, the speaker rushed through the agenda for the last day of the winter session today.