Lok Sabha adjourned till Monday amid continued protests by Opposition

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Friday as opposition protests over various issues continued. It was the second consecutive day that the House was unable to take up discussion on the Union Budget presented on February 1, PTI reported.

When the House reconvened at noon after an earlier adjournment, opposition members resumed their protests by entering the Well of the House.

Chairing the proceedings, Krishna Prasad Tenneti urged the opposition to take their seats and put down placards. As opposition members refused to relent, he adjourned the House till Monday, PTI reported.

Earlier, Speaker Om Birla lamented that he cannot run “such a House” as reported by PTI.

The speaker noted that 19 hours and 13 minutes have been wasted due to disruptions in the current session and said members are disrespecting the House.

As soon as the House met for the day, many opposition members trooped into the Well, shouting slogans and displaying placards.

The speaker said he wants the House to run and people have elected members to raise their issues and not to shout slogans.

Lok Sabha has been witnessing disruptions since Monday afternoon after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was disallowed by the chair from quoting an article based on the excerpts of former Army chief M M Naravane's 'unpublished memoir' in which he has referred to the India-China conflict of 2020.

While urging protesting members to allow the House to run, Birla also said there is a question marked for Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi.

As the din continued, the speaker adjourned proceedings within less than four minutes of convening.

Warning opposition members against crossing over to the treasury benches, he said, "I cannot run such a House."

The government and the opposition remain locked in a standoff over multiple issues. In an unusual development, the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on Thursday without the prime minister’s customary reply, which had been scheduled for the previous day but was disrupted by continuous sloganeering from opposition MPs.

(With inputs from PTI)