LS adjourns briefly amid protests by Andhra Pradesh members

The Lok Sabha today witnessed noisy scenes as members from Andhra Pradesh continued with their protest for the third straight day, prompting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to briefly adjourn the proceedings.
Soon after Mahajan read out obituary references, members from NDA ally Telugu Desam Party as well as from YSR Congress trooped into the Well with placards and began shouting slogans demanding financial and other assistance for Andhra Pradesh.
Vociferous TDP members stood close to the reporters' table in front of the Secretary General and one of the members was seen talking to the staff.
TDP member N Sivaprasad, who has been using unusual ways to protest, took a set of books kept on the table and began moving towards the aisle. Immediately, a peeved Mahajan adjourned the proceedings for around 15 minutes till 1145 hours.

There were around 15 members from both TDP and YSR Congress protesting in the Well while senior TDP leader and Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju looked on.
A few minutes prior to the adjournment, Mahajan asked the protesting members to keep distance from the table, saying they should think about the Lok Sabha staff.

"They (staff) are working for you," she told the members, adding that it would not be proper if something happens to them.
For some time, Sivaprasad also played a rattle while standing in the Well.
This is the third day of protest by the TDP and the YSR Congress members demanding funds and other facilities for Andhra Pradesh.

The ties between the TDP and ruling BJP have been strained, with the former alleging that the promises made at the time of bifurcation of the state were not fulfilled by the NDA government.