Lok Sabha disrupted again, adjourned for the day

The Lok Sabha continued to be disrupted on Monday as well with the opposition insistent for a debate on demonetisation under an adjournment motion rule that entails voting. The house was finally adjourned for the day in the afternoon.

The Lok Sabha -- which was adjourned for the day on the winter session's first day (November 16) after condoling the death of Cooch Behar MP Renuka Sinha -- has seen a spate of adjournments as the opposition continues to demand that the debate on demonetisation be held under Rule 56.

Since the debate under adjournment motion is followed by voting, the government has said it is against voting as it will send the message that there is political division on the issue.

On Monday, the first adjournment came soon after the house met, when Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's attempts to conduct the Question Hour failed. The house was adjourned till noon amid the din.

When the house re-assembled, the Speaker allowed the members to speak on the November 8 decision to demonetise old Rs 500 and 1,000 currency notes.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge described the situation an "economic clutter".

"Poor people are the worst affected... They can't take money out of their own bank accounts. This is an economic clutter," he said.

"We support an end to black money, but not the way it has been done and the atmosphere that has been created," Kharge said, urging the Speaker to allow the debate under the rule pertaining to adjournment motion.

However, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the demonetisation decision was taken after much deliberation and in the nation's interest.

He assured the house that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come to the house and make his intervention in the debate.

"This is a fight against black money and the whole nation has supported it... start the debate... if the members want the Prime Minister to come, he will come; and if needed, he will intervene," Singh said.

The opposition members, however, kept raising slogans like 'adjournment motion shuru karo (start the adjournment motion)'.

As the opposition members created a ruckus, the Speaker adjourned the house till 2 p.m. The same situation prevailed when the house reassembled, after which the Speaker adjourned it for the day.

--IANS

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