LS adjourned till 12 noon amid Oppn protests over LPG price hike

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon following loud protests by Opposition members over rising LPG prices and supply shortages. Speaker Om Birla cautioned MPs against disrupting Question Hour, stressing the need to uphold parliamentary decorum.

New Delhi: Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Friday amid protests by Opposition members over the LPG supply situation and price hike.

Speaker Om Birla warned the Opposition members against disrupting the Question Hour and asserted that it is everyone’s responsibility to protect the dignity and sanctity of Parliament, both inside and outside the House.

---

As soon as the House met for the day, the Opposition members sought to raise the issue of LPG supply situation and price hike.

Birla said the Question Hour is an important time where issues related to the nation and constituencies are raised, and all members should be allowed to raise their questions.

He told protesting members that their behaviour does not befit the decorum of the House.

On one hand, opposition members keep complaining that they don’t get opportunities to raise their issues and on the other don’t allow the Question Hour to function, he noted.

In around three minutes of convening for the day, Birla said if the Opposition does not want the House to function, he was adjourning the proceedings till 12 noon.

Opposition parties are at loggerheads with the government on various issues.

India has temporarily reintroduced kerosene for household use and coal for hotels and restaurants, as the escalating West Asia crisis disrupted its energy supply lines from Gulf countries.

With the conflict shutting Strait of Hormuz — the narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman through which India got more than half of its 5.8 million barrels of crude oil, 55 per cent of cooking gas LPG and 30 per cent liquefied natural gas (LNG) – oil have companies prioritised supply of LPG to household kitchens while cutting back on commercial users like hotels and restaurants.