LS adjourned amid uproar over Uttarakhand crisis

New Delhi : Amid continuing uproar in the Parliament over the political crisis in Uttarakhand, proceedings in the Lok Sabha were adjourned till 2.10 p.m. today.

Earlier, around 20 Congress Members of Parliament, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader K.C. Venugopal, observed a sit down protest near the well of the Lower House as the Uttarakhand issue dominated proceedings.

The leaders also raised slogans denouncing the NDA government over their actions in the hill state. Slogans such as ‘Manmani nahi chalegi’ and ‘Loktantra ki Hatya’ could be heard from the group of MPs sitting on the floor.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha was earlier adjourned for the second till 2 p.m. after frequent disrupts over the Uttarakhand issue.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lashed out at the Congress for disrupting proceedings and reiterated the BJP’s stand that sub-judice matters cannot be discussed in the House.

Ahead of the second part of the budget session, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu had earlier said the government is willing to discuss every issue in Parliament, but hinted that President’s rule in Uttarakhand may not be discussed, as the matter is sub-judice.

On Friday, the apex court admitted the Centre’s challenge to the Uttarakhand High Court’s decision and restored President’s rule over the state for the simple and technical reason that the April 21 high court ruling issued by Uttarakhand Chief Justice K.M. Joseph had not been “made available in the public domain”.

The apex court ruled that the High Court’s judgement would “remain in abeyance” till April 27, the next date of hearing.

It also issued directions to the high court to release the signed judgement by April 26 to all parties involved in the case, who will subsequently file copies before the apex court on April 27. (ANI)