RS adjourned for day after noisy protests; Speaker meets parties to break logjam in Lok Sabha

  The Rajya Sabha was today adjourned for the day amid noisy protests by AIADMK and TDP members over various issues even as most members wanted to bid farewell to about 40 retiring colleagues.

As soon as the House was adjourned for the day, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad was heard urging members not to leave the House and remain seated.

Most of the members, including those from the BJP and opposition parties, remain seated. However, after about 10 minutes most members from treasury benches left the House.

Union minister and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley was seen interacting with several opposition members including Azad.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reached out to leaders of different political parties and may hold an all-party meeting to break the logjam in the House, official sources said.

Lok Sabha proceedings in the second phase of the budget session have been a washout since March 5 when it started due to protests by different parties over a variety of issues.

Official sources said Mahajan met a delegation of the YSR Congress followed by that of the Congress and the BJD today and will be meeting other parties.

"If the logjam persists, she may hold an all-party meeting," a source said.

The Congress, sources said, wanted the House to first take up the notice for a no-confidence motion moved by the party against the government but was told that the notice for a similar motion given by Thota Narasimham of the Telugu Desam Party is the first in the order of receipts.

The Congress notice is second followed by that of the YSR Congress, they said.

The speaker has also consulted Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar over efforts to break the deadlock.

The Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha have seen little business due to protests by parties over a host of issues.

The government has claimed that it was ready to participate in any debate and blamed opposition parties for the impasse. The opposition has, in turn, blamed the government.