NEW DELHI, Dec 3: Nearly the entire opposition in the Lok Sabha, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, briefly exited the House on Tuesday in response to the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal.
When the House convened for the Question Hour, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav immediately raised the issue, seeking the Speaker Om Birla’s consent to address it.
“This is an extremely serious issue. Five individuals have lost their lives,” Yadav stated.
The Speaker indicated that the matter could be brought up during the Zero Hour, which prompted Yadav and his colleagues to start walking out in protest. Some SP members, however, rushed to the Well, shouting slogans.
As the SP members protested in the Well, DMK member A Raja was observed urging other opposition members, including those from the Congress, to stand and join the protest.
Members from the NCP and Shiv Sena-UBT also rose in support of the SP MPs. Several Congress members stood as well, with Gandhi joining them in the aisle to back the protest.
During the protest, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju reached out to Yadav for discussions.
After a short while, Yadav was seen signaling to his party’s MPs to depart. Opposition members, including Gandhi, were part of the group that walked out.
The MPs later returned to engage in the ongoing Question Hour.
Following the Question Hour, some opposition members conducted another walkout regarding Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s response on the minimum support price (MSP) concerning a question related to the PM-Kisan scheme. (PTI)
