Government rules out specific debate on price rise in parliament

The standoff between the UPA government and the BJP-led opposition continued on Thursday, with the former ruling out a debate on price rise under rules that entail voting in parliament.

Amidst protests and a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan by BJP MPs to present a memorandum to the president, the functioning of parliament remained paralysed for the fourth successive day.
In Lok Sabha, the opposition scaled down its demand and sought permission to discuss the matter under rule 184. The rule has a provision for voting at the end.

It was pandemonium in the House as parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal declared that two UPA allies had already moved motions seeking a discussion on price rise under rule 193, which does not provide for voting. Following this, the House was adjourned.

It was not all acrimony, though. The House also witnessed some light moments when NDA convener Sharad Yadav took a swipe at speaker Meira Kumar. “Ek varsh ho gaya hai, aapka prem Pranab babu ki taraf toh khub jhalakta hai, lekin hum logon ki taraf aapki daya kabhi nahi hoti [It has been a year now, your affection is more towards Pranab [Mukherjee, who leads treasury benches] and you have been less kind to us,” he said to thunderous laughter. Mukherjee was seen smiling.