The Lok Sabha was rocked for the fourth consecutive day on Friday by the Telangana issue, with members in favour of the separate state and those opposing it disrupting the proceedings.
The House could function barely for about 55 minutes during which legislative business was rushed through with five important bills being passed and two others introduced amid din.
The bills passed included one on raising Salaries and Allowances of Ministers and another providing for creation of commercial divisions of High Courts.
Walk-out
The entire Opposition, except TDP, was agitated at the way the legislative business was rushed through by Speaker Meira Kumar and staged a walk-out. The Lok Sabha was later adjourned sine die.
Pro-Telangana and pro-united Andhra Pradesh members engaged in vigorous slogan-shouting to press their demands as soon as the House met for the day, a repetition of the scenes witnessed during the last three days.
While four TDP members trooped into the well carrying placards saying ‘We want united AP’, pro-Telangana Congress members held placards with ‘Double standard, TDP down down’ written on them.
Chanting slogans ‘December 9 is the black day’, the TDP members were demanding that Home Minister P Chidambaram should withdraw his announcement about creation of Telangana.
One of the six TDP members R Suresh was favouring creation of Telangana and carried a placard which read ‘Jai Telangana’
Bodoland People’s Front (BDF) member S K Bwiswmuthiary also rushed into the well demanding separate state of Bodoland.
Amicable solution
Before adjourning the House sine die, the Speaker referred to the disruptions caused by members over the Telangana issue and hoped an amicable solution would be found to it.
“Ours is a democratic society, which, I am sure, can find solutions to the most intractable problems,” Kumar said, adding, “The maturity and sagacity found in the democratic political forces should help them discover rational approaches to solving this problem.”
Noting that democratic processes are “characterised by the flexibility of approaches which are opposed to maximalist positions on any matter”, she said, “I hope such approaches and attitudes will re-emerge in the coming days and the democratic spirit of inclusiveness will re-assert in the state of Andhra Pradesh.”
As the Speaker rushed through legislative business amid continued slogan-shouting, Left members Basudeb Acharia and Gurudas Dasgupta were seen protesting and objecting.
Acharia was seen talking to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav about his unhappiness and Dasgupta roped in JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav who in turn spoke to BJP’s Deputy Leader Sushma Swaraj.
Thereafter, all their members were seen walking out but not before Swaraj said it was not the way to pass the bills.
While walking out, Lalu Prasad shouted that proper method was not being adopted to pass major legislations.
The Speaker, however, remained unfazed and continued with the legislative business.
After all the papers listed were laid on the table and the bills passed, Kumar made a customary statement on the proceedings of this session and adjourned the House sine die.
Uproar in House
Earlier, trouble started as soon as the House met for the day, with TDP and Congress members creating uproar during Question Hour over the demand for Telangana state and some other issues, leading to its adjournment for nearly 40 minutes till 12 PM.
As soon as the Speaker completed obituary references, TDP members walked into the well with placards saying, “We want United AP” and raised slogans.
The pro-Telangana Congress members, who also carried placards saying ‘Double Standards -- TDP Down, Down’, tried to walk towards the well but were restrained by Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal and later by his deputy V Narayanasamy.
Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) tried to raise some issue even as his party colleague Toofani Saroj posed a supplementary question to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Sharad Yadav (JD-U) and Basudeb Acharia (CPI(M)) also tried to raise some issues but were not audible in the din.
