Protests continue in Lok Sabha over Andhra Pradesh

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members along with members from the YSR Congress again staged a protest in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, forcing a brief adjournment during Question Hour.

Later, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and Union Minister from TDP Y.S. Chowdary tried to pacify the protesting members who have been demanding a special package for Andhra Pradesh.

After the House met, members from the TDP and the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu (YSR) Congress trooped near the Speaker's podium with placards and started raising slogans demanding "justice" for Andhra Pradesh.

The protest and sloganeering continued even as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan urged the members to go back to their seats.

Midway through the Question Hour, TDP MP N. Sivaprasad picked some books related to rules of proceedings from Lok Sabha Secretary General's table and tried to leave with them, prompting the Speaker to say that he was causing a threat for others.

"They are working for you, if something happens to them... This is not proper, please keep distance from them," the Speaker said, referring to the Lok Sabha secretariat staff who are seated on a table in front of the Speaker's podium.

The members stood around the Secretary General's table when protesting. An angry Speaker then adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

When the sitting resumed, the protest continued. Sivaprasad was also seen beating a rattle during the protest.

Ananth Kumar then urged the members to stop the protest when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley comes for the reply to the Budget debate.

TDP's Y.S. Chowdary also asked the protesting members to give some time to the government.

"If the issues are not resolved in 15 days, we can have an exclusive discussion on this...," he said.

The TDP members, however, continued their protest. As the debate proceeded, members from both the parties were still standing near the Speaker's podium even though the sloganeering stopped.

The TDP members, who are a part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), have slammed the Union government for not keeping its promise and not following the "alliance dharma".

--IANS

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