NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was stalled for the fifth successive day on Friday, as the Telangana MPs continued to raise their demand for a separate Telangana state to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
After repeated disruptions, the House had to be adjourned for the customary three-week break and will now reconvene on April 24, when the second part of
the Budget session resumes.
Earlier in the morning, as the LS proceedings got underway, the Telangana MPs from three parties - the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Congress - rushed to the Well of the House disrupting the Question Hour and waved placards that called upon
the Centre to “honour the commitment for Telangana”.
But seeing the Congress members among the protesters, some Opposition MPs including those from the BJP, could be heard shouting that a “Congress conspiracy was afoot to derail the House proceedings”.
Speaker Meira Kumar then adjourned the House till noon. As the House reassembled at noon, placard-carrying MPs from the Telangana region again stormed the Well, even as the Speaker ordered the tabling of papers and commenced Zero Hour. But with no let up in the protests, the Chair adjourned the House till April 24.
Earlier, during the protests, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was seen discussing the issue with Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the party in-charge for Andhra Pradesh.
A group of Congress MPs also staged a sit-in at the portico of Parliament House, demanding the creation of a separate Telangana state.