Logjam in LS continues

New Delhi, Feb 04 (PTI): Lok Sabha proceedings were disrupted for the third consecutive day on Thursday as protests by Opposition members demanding a separate discussion on the three contentious farm laws created uproar, leading to repeated adjournments of the House.
As soon as the House assembled at 4 PM, members of the Opposition started shouting slogans against the government and the three agri laws.
Few questions related to the ministry of roads and highways were replied by Union minister Nitin Gadkari. But as sloganeering continued, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asked members to return to their seats. “Question Hour is the right of MPs…This behaviour is not good and I again request you all to return to your seats so that the House proceedings run properly,” he said.
Shouting slogans and showing placards are against parliamentary tradition, he added. But the Opposition members refused to relent forcing Birla to adjourn the House till 5 PM after about 20 minutes of proceedings. When the House re-convened at 5 pm, members of the Opposition again started raising slogans. Some ministers and members laid papers on the table of the House, and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Arbitration and Conciliation Amendment Bill, 2021. Meenakshi Lekhi, who was in the Chair, asked the members to return to their seats, but they continued with their protests. Soon, she adjourned the House till 6 pm after about 15 minutes of proceedings.
When House reassembled at 6 pm, the Opposition continued its protests shouting slogans and showing placards.
Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, appealed to the members to go back to their seats so that the House can function normally. “You have every right to raise any issue that you would like to. Please exercise this right. Please go to your seats, please don’t show the placards. You can raise your issues through the discussion on the motion thanking the President for his address,” he said.
However, the opposition ignored his pleas and continued the protests, forcing Agrawal to adjourn the House till 7 pm after just 10 minutes of proceedings.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi’s borders for over two months demanding rollback of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.