Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm as oppn insists Rahul Gandhi should speak before Budget discussion

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday, with opposition parties insisting that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak before the House takes up discussion on the Union Budget.

As Krishna Prasad Tenneti called Congress' Shashi Tharoor to initiate the debate on the Budget, opposition members dug in their heels and said Gandhi should be allowed to speak first.

Tenneti underlined that the discussion was on the Budget and Tharoor's name had been given by the Congress as its lead speaker. He said he would need to get clarity on whether the LoP can be allowed to speak. He also asked Gandhi whether he wanted to speak on the Budget.

Tharoor, meanwhile, said he yields to the LoP. As the stalemate continued, Tenneti adjourned the House till 2 pm.

Later, talking to reporters outside Parliament building, Tharoor said Gandhi wanted to respond to allegations that Congress MPs in Lok Sabha wanted to carry out an "unexpected act" when the prime minister was to come to the Lok Sabha chamber last week to respond to debate on Motion of Thanks. He said a clarification was required on the part of the LoP.

On February 5, an anguished Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he had "concrete information" that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's seat and carry out "some unexpected act" as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

Earlier, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon after Speaker Birla slammed opposition members for "planning" disruptions.

As the House took up Question Hour, opposition members started raising issues which they demanded should be addressed immediately. Birla said the issues can be raised during discussion on the Union Budget. He said members, including the LoP, were free to speak during the debate.

As opposition members continued disruptions, he slammed them for the "planned" disruptions and asked them to let the House run as per rules.