LS adjourned till 2 p.m. following uproar

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. on Thursday amid uproarious scenes over the Rafale fighter jet deal and Cauvery water issue.

Soon after the House reassembled at noon after the washout of Question Hour, official papers were laid on the table.

Immediately, the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members trooped near the Speaker's podium and started sloganeering.

The Congress members were holding placards seeking a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jet deal while the TDP demanded special status for Andhra Pradesh.

Amid the din, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented a statement showing the Supplementary Demands for Grants-Second Batch for 2018-19.

He also introduced The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan then started the Zero Hour and allowed AIADMK's P. Venugopal to speak, but BJP and Congress members from Karnataka protested against this.

Venugopal said the permission granted by the Central Water Commission (CWC) to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on Megadatu on Cauvery river should be withdrawn. This was countered by BJP's Prahlad Joshi.

Congress members from Karnataka held placards that read "Cauvery is our right, we support Megadatu".

As the din continued, Mahajan adjourned the House till 2 p.m.

Earlier, when the House met for the day, Congress, AIADMK and TDP members were on their feet. They trooped near the Speaker's podium and raised slogans in support of their demands.

The Treasury benches too raising banners seeking an apology from Congress President Rahul Gandhi following the Supreme Court's ruling on the Rafale deal.

Amid the din, the Speaker then adjourned the House till noon.

Both Houses have been witnessing continuous disruptions over Rafale, Cauvery dispute and special status for Andhra Pradesh ever since the winter session began on December 11.

--IANS

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