Lok Sabha sits till midnight again

The Lok Sabha sat till 11.59 pm on Tuesday to conclude discussion on demands for grants for the agriculture and rural development ministries.

This is for the second time in less than a week that the Lower House conducted business late in the night to conclude a debate. On July 11, it had worked till 11.58 pm to conclude debate on the Railway Ministry.

Nearly 90 members participated in the debate which began around 2.45 pm.

Speaker Om Birla said there were "technical" reasons and he has to adjourn the House at midnight otherwise he would have preferred to run the business till 3 am.

Concerned over increasing number of farmers' suicide and 'worsening' agrarian situation, Opposition Members Tuesday suggested the government ensure adequate water, quality seeds and remunerative prices for farm produce in a bid to improve the plight of farmers.

While the Opposition members attacked the government for not doing enough for the agriculture sector, the members of the ruling party stressed that farmers are benefiting from the host of schemes launched by the Modi government in the last five years.