By IANS,
New Delhi : The budget session of parliament began on a stormy note Thursday with opposition members staging angry protests over the hike in petrol and diesel prices, forcing the speaker to adjourn the Lok Sabha twice.
Minutes after the house assembled, almost all the opposition members led by the Left parties were on their feet, demanding that the hike in petrol and diesel prices be withdrawn immediately.
It all began soon after Speaker Meira Kumar concluded reading obituary references to two former members after the house assembled at 11 a.m..
The speaker had to adjourn the house for 20 minutes till 11.40 a.m. when her repeated requests failed to pacify the Left parties, who were joined by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and later the entire opposition.
Meira Kumar had to adjourn the Lok Sabha yet again for 20 minutes as the protests continued as soon as the house reassembled. The members were also angry that the government had announced the hike just on the eve of the month-long budget session.
The government Wednesday announced a hike of Rs.4 per litre on petrol and Rs.2 on diesel prices.