Parliament deadlock over price rice issue ends

The week-long logjam in Parliament over the issue of spiralling prices ended on Monday with both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha resuming their normal functioning.

The stalemate ended after the Opposition gave up its demand for a motion to discuss the issue under rules that entail voting and agreed for passing a resolution after discussion in both Houses.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said the House will discuss the issue on Tuesday. In the Rajya Sabha the discussion will take place on Wednesday.

The consensus was reached at an all-party breakfast meeting called by Leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee.

As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, the Speaker said she had been informed that the Treasury benches and the Opposition had reached an agreement. She expressed hope that the House would start functioning without any disruption.

The issue of price rise had rocked Parliament during almost the entire first week of the monsoon session with an angry Opposition seeking to censure the government in both the Houses.

The deadlock had remained unresolved even after the Lok Sabha Speaker rejected notices of adjournment motion on the issue.

The Opposition has been blaming the government for its failure to control rise in prices, particularly of food items and petroleum products. The general inflation has remained in the double digits while prices of food items are increasing by 9.6 per cent.