Farm laws issue rocks LS

New Delhi, Feb 03 (PTI):
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned repeatedly on Wednesday as the protesting opposition members demanded a separate discussion on the farm laws issue.
As soon as the House met at 4 PM, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury tried to raise the issue of farmers’ agitation against the agri laws, saying the matter is maligning the image of the country.
“We are concerned,” he said. Several opposition members trooped into the Well, protesting against the farm laws. Urging the members to return to their seats, Speaker Om Birla said they should maintain the dignity of the House or else he will have to take disciplinary action.
He said the Question Hour is important and it should go on. But the opposition members refused to relent, forcing him to adjourn the proceedings till 4.30 PM. When the House reassembled, Chowdhury demanded that there be a separate discussion on the Presidential address and the farmers’ issue. The Speaker said the members should return to their seats and assured them of sufficient time and opportunity to express their views. Birla urged AAP leader Bhagwant Mann to go to his seat if he wants a discussion and warned him of action. But the opposition members refused to relent, forcing him to adjourn the proceedings again till 5 PM.
Similar scenes were seen when the proceedings resumed, with many opposition members trooping into the Well again and shouting slogans against the farm laws.
After various documents were tabled, the Speaker requested the agitating members to go back to their seats as he wanted to start the Zero Hour, saying it is important to talk about the problems faced by the people in the members’ constituencies.
However, the sloganeering continued. Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal was also in the Well, holding a poster against the farm laws. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said he had discussions with the leaders of Opposition parties but was not taking their names and that they had agreed to start a discussion on the motion thanking the President for his address.
“Now, they have made a U-turn and that is also like an insult to the President,” Joshi said.
There were more than 20 members, including from the Congress, DMK, AAP and the SAD, protesting in the Well.
Amid the din, Birla adjourned the House till 7 PM.
Several farmer unions have been staging protests at various border points of Delhi since late November demanding the repeal of the farm laws.