Opposition demands debate on price rise in parliament

By IANS,

New Delhi: A day ahead of the monsoon session of parliament, opposition parties Sunday demanded a discussion on rising prices under an adjournment motion if the house was to function normally.


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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj (Bharatiya Janata Party) told reporters that there will not be any disturbance in the house if the government accepted the opposition’s demand of an adjournment motion.

She added that even the Congress’ allies like the DMK and Trinamool Congress wanted a discussion on the price rise.

BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told IANS that they will bring in an adjournment motion to discuss issues in both the houses and “expect the (other) opposition parties to support us”.

“The main issue is price rise and how the people of India are reeling under this huge problem,” he said, after attending the party’s parliamentary board executive’s meeting.

Top party leaders, including Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Gopinath Munde attended the meeting at parliamentary board chairman L.K. Advani’s residence.

About “misuse” of CBI, Hussain alleged that the investigative agency helped former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson – the main accused of the Bhopal gas tragedy case – get away.

Hussain said the party will raise issues like the economic blockade of Manipur, law and order issues in Delhi, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoist activities.

“We will attack the government on the issue of price rise as it concerns the common man. The 11 issues to be raised include misuse of CBI, terrorism, Bhopal gas tragedy and rail accidents,” BJP Rajya Sabha MP S.S. Ahluwalia told reporters.

“We appeal to the people of India to be with us to counter the problems faced by them,” he added.

The demand for a debate on the price rise also came at an all-party meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on the eve of the monsoon session. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not attend the meeting. Leaders of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) too were missing.

“The entire opposition parties have demanded a discussion on price rise on essential commodities and fuel prices under adjournment motion. We have said if you want to run the house peacefully don’t disagree with the proposal,” Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Lok Sabha leader Basudeb Acharia told IANS.

He said he had also demanded an all-party delegation be sent to Kashmir “to assess the situation and hold talks with the people of Kashmir”.

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