By IANS,
New Delhi : The hike in fuel prices Wednesday forced two adjournments of the Rajya Sabha with the opposition forcefully asking for its roll back and demanding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh make a statement in the house on the issue.
A procedural wrangle erupted when the house reassembled with the opposition saying they would listen to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s scheduled reply to a short duration discussion on the rise in prices of essential commodities, if he also addresses the fuel price hike.
Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha K. Rahman Khan said this was not permissible under the rules of the house.
With the din continuing unabated, Khan adjourned the house at 12.20 p.m. till 2 p.m.
Earlier, the house was adjourned as soon as it met at 11 a.m. with the opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding that the fuel hike be rolled back.
BJP members led by party’s deputy leader in the house S.S. Ahluwalia and Narendra Pandey were on their feet, vociferously demanding roll back of fuel price hike.