LS adjourned till 2 pm as oppn insists Rahul should speak before Budget discussion
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday with opposition parties insisting that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak before the House takes up discussion on the Union Budget.
As Krishna Prasad Tenneti called Congress' Shashi Tharoor to initiate the debate on the Budget, opposition members dug in their heels and said Gandhi be allowed to speak first.
Tenneti underlined that the discussion was on the Budget and Tharoor's name had been given by the Congress as its lead speaker.
He said he would need to get clarity on whether LoP can be allowed to speak. He also asked Gandhi whether he wanted to speak on the Budget.
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Tharoor, meanwhile, said he yields to the LoP.
As the stalemate continued, Tenneti adjourned the House till 2 pm.
Later, talking to reporters outside Parliament building, Tharoor said Gandhi wanted to respond to allegations that Congress MPs in Lok Sabha wanted to carry out an "unexpected act" when the prime minister was to come to the Lok Sabha chamber last week to respond to debate on Motion of Thanks.
He said a clarification was required on part of the LoP.
On February 5, an anguished Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he had "concrete information" that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's seat and carry out "some unexpected act" as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
Earlier, Lok Sabha proceeding were adjourned till 12 noon after Speaker Birla slammed opposition members for "planning" disruptions.
As the House took up Question Hour, opposition members started raising issues which they demanded should be addressed immediately.
Birla said the issues can be raised during discussion on the Union Budget. He said members, including the LoP, were free to speak during the debate.
As opposition members continued disruptions, he slammed them for the "planned" disruptions and asked them to let the House run as per rules.
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Karnataka bypolls: Over 60 per cent voter turnout in Bagalkot, Davanagere South till 5 pm
Bengaluru (PTI): Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in both Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where bypolls were held on Thursday.
While the turnout in Bagalkot was 65.68 per cent, it was 63.04 per cent in Davanagere South.
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP aims to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
