Parliament disrupted for second day

Both houses of Parliament were disrupted again on the second day of the brief winter session on Friday and the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had to adjourn them till Monday.

Minutes after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced his new cabinet ministers in the Lok Sabha, MPs from the BJP, the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) began raising slogans demanding a reversal of the decision to allow FDI in retail. Trinamool members also entered the well of the house.

Speaker Meira Kumar asked them to go back to their seats, and when they refused, she adjourned the house till noon. When the chaos continued even after the house reconvened, the speaker adjourned it till Monday.

In the Rajya Sabha, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) members continued with their demand for reservations for SC / ST candidates in promotions in government jobs. They trooped into the well of the house, demanding resrevations. However, Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs vociferously opposed this demand. BJP lawmakers opposed FDI in retail, leading to an adjournment.

The upper house was adjourned twice, but even after it reassembled, the opposition members did not allow it to function, forcing an adjournment till Monday. In the melee, select committee reports, on the Lokpal Bill and on health, home and agriculture, were laid on the table. The North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) amendment bill 2012 was also tabled.

India's parliament has become dysfunctional in recent years with the BJP-led opposition not allowing it to carry on its legislative work. The BJP did not allow both houses to function during the monsoon session, as it wanted Singh to quit on the issue of coalgate.