Sonia to chair key meet today; Oppn stir continues in House

Former party chief Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to speak in the Lok Sabha on the fuel price hike, a Congress functionary said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is set to chair the party’s parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, a Congress functionary said on Monday, as Opposition protests over rising prices of petroleum products and essential commodities continued in Parliament. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to speak in the Lok Sabha on the fuel price hike, the functionary added.
Ahead of the Congress Parliamentary Panel (CPP) meeting, Sonia Gandhi interacted with Congress MPs from the Lok Sabha and asked them to continue to protest over the continuing surge in fuel prices. According to two leaders familiar with the matter, the meeting also decided that Congress would continue to press for parliamentary scrutiny of the Criminal Procedure (identification) Bill in Parliament, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Meanwhile, Opposition protests over the fuel price hike led to a washout of the day’s business in the Rajya Sabha— the first such instance in this session. In the Lok Sabha, Opposition MPs walked out over the issue, signalling an intensified push on a price rise during the remaining part of the session.
In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not accept the notice given by the opposition members to discuss the issue of price rise, saying the Opposition had enough opportunity to take up the issue during the discussion on the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill. A furious Opposition erupted in protests, forcing the Chairman to adjourn the House till 12 noon. When the House met again, continued protests forced two more adjournments.

Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh later said: “Today, the combined Opposition forced an adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for the entire day on the issue of continuing hike in petrol, diesel, cooking gas...”