Parliament adjourned over Lakhimpur killings

New Delhi: Proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day on Wednesday as the Opposition members raised slogans and waved placards demanding the sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, which claimed the lives of eight people, including four farmers.

In the Lok Sabha, Opposition members trooped into the well of the house, waving newspaper reports on the findings of the special investigation team probing the violence and forced the adjournment of Lok Sabha proceedings during the Question Hour.

Congress members wanted Speaker Om Birla to admit the notices for adjournment motion on the Lakhimpur Kheri killings submitted by party leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members.

Birla continued with the Question Hour amid sloganeering by Opposition members and urged them to allow the smooth functioning of the House. "I always give adequate time to members to raise issues. You (protesting members) are disrupting the Question Hour. It is not a good tradition and does not respect the dignity of the House. You don't want to have discussions," Birla said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi urged the speaker to direct Opposition members to wear masks while protesting in the Well, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk it poses to Parliament officials.

Despite the din, four questions and supplementaries were taken up till 11.30 am before the speaker adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.

Similar scenes were repeated when the House re-assembled and protests continued despite pleas from Bharatiya Janata Party member Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair.

Agrawal said the speaker had received some notices for suspension of proceedings, but he disallowed all of them. 

"Sit down, there is an important discussion on price rise. It was your demand. Members want to express their opinion on the subject. Please go back to your seats," Agrawal told the Opposition members.

The chair allowed the laying of papers on the table of the House and later adjourned the proceedings for the day. Opposition members were demanding the ouster of the minister from the Union council of ministers contending that his son Ashish Mishra was among the 13 accused in the violence that took place in October wherein at least four farmers and a journalist were killed.

The SIT probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence told a court that the killing of four farmers and a journalist was a 'pre-planned conspiracy.'