Price war stalls parliament

Both Houses of parliament were adjourned on Tuesday without transacting any business as the government refused to relent on the opposition’s demand that the price rise issue be discussed under a rule that entails voting at the end of the debate.

The stalemate is likely to continue for a few days. Both sides made it clear that the railway budget scheduled to be presented on Wednesday and the Union budget on Feburary 26 will not be disrupted.

On Tuesday, a determined Opposition — bolstered by support of some of the government’s own allies like the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party — moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, demanding a discussion under a rule that entails a vote at the conclusion of the debate.

The government refused. It maintained that it had the numbers in the Lok Sabha in case it came down to a vote. But in Rajya Sabha, it does not have the numbers. A defeat in the upper house has no bearing on the continuation of the government, but it would have meant a huge embarrassment for the Manmohan Singh cabinet.

A vote in the Lok Sabha would have meant that the treasury benches would have had to marshal their resources and ensure full attendance of their members. A vote would have also meant government going out of its way to mollycoddle its two allies, the Trinamool Congress and the DMK.

Both are upset with its handling of the price rise issue. The government will first have to muster numbers for motion of thanks for president’s speech and later for the vote on the Union budget.

The BJP-led NDA also demanded suspension of question hour in the Rajya Sabha on the issue and asked for a debate on price rise under Rule 167, which allows voting.

“This government has completely failed to check rising prices,” Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the Opposition was “very agitated” on the issue and a discussion should be held.