UP farmers' stir rocks Parliament

Seeds of protest: Opposition calls for new law on land acquisition

The Opposition as well as Congress MPs targeted the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) over the issue. While Congress members in the Lok Sabha joined the protest from their positions, those belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal-United , Rashtriya Lok Dal and Shiv Sena repeatedly trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans and indulging in verbal duels with BSP members.

As a result, the Speaker had to adjourn the proceedings first for an hour, then for two hours and then for the day. In the Rajya Sabha, too, the Chair adjourned the House for the day after a two-hour adjournment following the Question Hour.

In the Lok Sabha, BJP and SP members did not allow the Question Hour to take place as they launched a strong protest against the killing of the protesting farmers in police firing and rushed to the well of the House.

BJP’s Varun Gandhi was among the more vociferous protesters. Amid the din, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the proceedings till noon. When the House reassembled, similar conditions prevailed and she again adjourned the proceedings for two hours after the papers listed for the day were tabled amid chaos.

BSP leader Dara Singh Chauhan tried his best to present the party-run UP government’s position, but his voice was drowned completely in the noise. Interestingly, Congress members from Uttar Pradesh, including Jagdambika Pal, P L Punia and Kamal Kishor, were seen being signalled by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy not to rush to the well.

In the Rajya Sabha, while the matter was raised as soon as the House assembled for the day, with BJP and BSP members clashing over it, the Chair could persuade members to let the Question Hour take place.

However, as soon as the Question Hour ended and the Zero Hour began, the MPs created a ruckus forcing Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan to adjourn the proceedings first for 15 minutes and then till 2 pm. Both Houses then adjourned for the day as Opposition members did not allow the listed business to take place.

Later, BJP leader Rajnath Singh told reporters that his party wanted introduction of a new act on land acquisition to protect the interests of farmers all over the country.