FDI, Telangana demand and safety from Mullaperiyar dam add to House chaos

Parliament worked for just ten minutes — to welcome a parliamentary delegation from Bulgaria, to remember those who had died in Mumbai terrorist attack on November 26 three years ago and to clear some papers laid on the table of the House before yet another stop-start day. On Today, the cause celebre of the Opposition was FDI in retail and for a few Congress MPs was statehood to Telangana.

In the Lok Sabha, BJP member Murli Manohar Joshi, who had given an adjournment notice to discuss government’s policy on FDI, insisted that the issue be taken up immediately.

He was supported by Sharad Yadav (JD-U) and other NDA members. BJP members also displayed a banner demanding cancellation of the government decision on FDI.

Left parties were also demanding a discussion on the same issue and some of their members walked up to the well.

TRS members too walked into the well and raised their demand for a separate state of Telangana. They were holding placards to press for their demand. Congress members from the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh also walked up to the well to make the same demand.

CPI(M) members from Kerala demanded steps for safety of the people of the state, who, they feared, would be affected if the age-old Mullaperiyar dam is breached. There were tremors in the area last week.

In the Rajya Sabha, BSP, JD(U), AIADMK and SP members raised slogans against the government’s FDI policy soon after Chairman Hamid Ansari took his seat. “FDI vapas lo (withdraw FDI),” they chanted, as BJP members joined them.

Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, whose party BJP had moved a motion for adjournment of the ‘question hour’ to take up FDI policy, rose to speak on the issue but could not begin due to slogan shouting.

“I want to hear him (Jaitley),” Ansari said, but the members were unrelenting.

Left members from Kerala showed a banner highlighting the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam in the state but Ansari asked them not to display any banner.

“What is the point of this shouting?” Ansari asked as his repeated pleas to restore peace in the House went unheeded. Soon, Left members from Kerala moved into the well holding banners on the safety of the dam. “Don’t come into the well....no banners please,” Ansari said before adjourning the House till noon. The House was later adjourned for the rest of day.