Congress leaders observe sit down protest in LS over Uttarakhand issue

Around 20 Congress Members of Parliament, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader K.C. Venugopal, observed a sit down protest near the well of the Lower House as the Uttarakhand issue dominated proceedings on Monday.

The leaders also raised slogans denouncing the NDA government over their actions in the hill state. Slogans such as 'Manmani nahi chalegi' and 'Loktantra ki Hatya' could be heard from the group of MPs sitting on the floor.

Ahead of the second part of the budget session, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu had earlier said the government is willing to discuss every issue in Parliament, but hinted that President's rule in Uttarakhand may not be discussed, as the matter is sub-judice.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan yesterday held an all party meeting to ensure a smooth functioning of Parliament.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Mahajan said, leaders of different parties have assured their cooperation to have a fruitful session. She said, some party leaders raised the issue of President rule in Uttrakhand but the matter is sub judice and cannot be discussed before April 27th, which is the date of hearing of the case in the Supreme Court.

On Friday, the apex court admitted the Centre's challenge to the Uttarakhand High Court's decision and restored President's rule over the state for the simple and technical reason that the April 21 high court ruling issued by Uttarakhand Chief Justice K.M. Joseph had not been "made available in the public domain".

The apex court ruled that the High Court's judgement would "remain in abeyance" till April 27, the next date of hearing.

It also issued directions to the high court to release the signed judgement by April 26 to all parties involved in the case, who will subsequently file copies before the apex court on April 27.