Opposition uproar over rising prices of essential commodities paralysed the proceedings in Parliament today, with the Rajya Sabha adjourning for the day at noon and the Lok Sabha witnessing two adjournments.
The 'Bharat Bandh' called by the 13-party grouping, including the Left, on the issue of price rise cast its shadow in both the Houses with Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav leading the RJD and SP members into the well of Lok Sabha.
'Jab, Jab Congress aayee hai, kamartod mehngai layi hai' (whenever Congress has come to power, it has brought back- breaking inflation) was the slogan chanted by SP members carrying placards. In the Rajya Sabha, they were joined by members of the Left and AIADMK, while the BJP stood up in support.
BSP, which announced its support to the government on the opposition-sponsored cut motions to the Demands for Grants, did not join the protests in both Houses. Food prices have remained high with the index of these items hovering over 17 per cent.
Even the general inflation, based on the wholesale price index, is almost touching the double-digit figure. Even as the protests against price rise continued in the Lok Sabha, the BJP protested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's refusal to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe allegations of phone tapping of political leaders.
After paying tributes to two former members who recently passed away, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj said she was surprised to see media reports quoting the Prime Minister as saying there would be no JPC to investigate the phone tapping issue.
"This is a disrespect of the House. The Prime Minister should give a statement in the House," she said. BJP has also demanded a JPC probe into the IPL scam. In the uproar, the House was adjourned till noon.
After the House re-assembled, SP and RJD members trooped into the well and shouted slogans like "Jo sarkar nikammi hai, woh sarkar badalni hai" (an ineffective government has to be changed) and "abhi to yeh angdai hai, aage aur ladai hai" (This is just the beginning, more struggles lie ahead).
Rajya Sabha, which witnessed uproar right from the word go, was adjourned during the Question Hour minutes after it met. Similar scenes were witnessed when the House re-assembled, leading to its adjournment for the day.
