Storm over Telangana, price rise disrupts Lok Sabha

New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) It was back to adjournments as the Lok Sabha met after a three-week break Tuesday with members from Telangana raising the issue of statehood to the region and Left parties demanding a discussion on spiralling prices.

The Lok Sabha was first adjourned till 12 noon shortly after it began its sitting, and again till 2 p.m.

Trouble began shortly after the house assembled for the day. There were obituary references for N.K.P. Salve and Dinesh Pratap Singh, former members of the house, following which Speaker Meira Kumar took up question hour.

But MPs from the Telangana region, including those from the Congress, raised the statehood issue and started shouting slogans.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee were in the house as the party MPs from Telangana disrupted proceedings, refusing to heed the requests of senior ministers P. Chidambaram and Pawan Kumar Bansal to get back to their seats.

The Telangana MPs were joined by the Left members, who wanted suspension of the question hour to discuss the isue of spiralling price rise. They wanted the speaker to take up their notice in this regard.

"I have received your notice. I will allow you to raise the issue during zero hour. Let the question hour continue," Meira Kumar told them.

The shouting, though, remained unabated despite Meira Kumar's repeated appeals to them to let the house continue on with question hour.

Some of the members trooped out of their seats towards the speaker's chair. They also did not heed the speaker's advice to return to their seats.

Meira Kumar was then forced to adjourn the house till noon.

When the house resumed its sitting after the brief disruption, the scenes were repeated by the Telangana MPs.

But Meira Kumar quickly went through the list of business, asking ministers and members to lay papers as per the list of business for the day.

The speaker called for zero hour, but the shouting and disruptions continued, resulting in her adjourning the house till 2 p.m.