Debate On Price Rise To Take Place In Parliament Next Week After Opposition Ruckus

The Opposition parties have been holding protests in Parliament demanding an immediate discussion on price rise and GST issues.

Members of Lok Sabha protest in the House during ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament,

Source : PTI

After two weeks of massive protests by the Opposition demanding a debate on price rise, both houses of Parliament will take up the matter for discussion next week, ANI reported. A discussion on price rise will be held in Lok Sabha under Rule 193 on Monday. A similar discussion is likely to take place under Rule 176 in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

A notice requesting a discussion in Lok Sabha was received from Shiv Sena leader Vinayak Raut and Congress leader Manish Tewari. In Rajya Sabha, a notice for discussion was given by NCP MP Fauzia Khan.

Parliament proceedings have been disrupted by Opposition lawmakers demanding a debate on inflation and GST rate hike since the beginning of the Monsoon session on July 18.

This week, 23 Opposition MPs were suspended from the Upper House due to "unruly behaviour". The suspension of 23 MPs over three days is the highest in the recent history of Parliament. Four Congress MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha for the remainder of the current session as well.

On Wednesday, 20 suspended Opposition MPs started a 50-hour-long protest inside the Parliament complex.

The government had earlier said the price rise matter would be taken up once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recovered from Covid-19 and returned to Parliament. Sitharaman has started attending Parliament from Thursday.

India's annual retail inflation in June climbed to 7.01 per cent in June from 6.26 per cent a year earlier, as per government data. The Opposition has also attacked the Centre over recent GST hikes on essential commodities such as pre-packaged rice, wheat and milk. Some Opposition parties like AAP have also sought a discussion on the recent Gujarat hooch tragedy in which over 40 people died.

The last two days of Lok Sabha proceedings saw a ruckus over the "rashtrapatni" remark by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.