Cong agrees to price rise debate sans voting

A day after taking a strong stand against price rise in the Lok Sabha, the Congress had to eat humble pie on Tuesday as it dropped its demand for an adjournment motion on the issue and agreed for a discussion under a rule that does not entail voting.

When the Lower House of Parliament convened for the day, leader of the Congress group, Mallikarjun Kharge, urged Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to convert the notice for an adjournment motion given by his party into “some other form, as you may like.”

The Congress’ change of stance came a day after it stood isolated in the House as other parties, accepting the Speaker’s ruling rejecting the notices for adjournment motion, had agreed to a discussion on price rise without voting. On the Speaker’s advice, members of the CPM, RJD, BJD and AAP had given notices for a short duration discussion under Rule 193 on Monday, but the Congress stuck to its guns and insisted on an adjournment motion. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the government was ready for a discussion but Opposition members had resorted to disruptions. Naidu also defended the Modi government on the issue of price rise saying, “How can a six-week-old government be held responsible for sustained inflation for the last 10 years”.