New Delhi: The Lok Sabha was briefly adjourned five minutes after reconvening Wednesday amid the constant ruckus created by the Opposition MPs.
Speaker Om Birla urged the Opposition benches to let the Question House proceed; however, the MPs continued with their sloganeering. The House was subsequently adjourned till noon.
Earlier in the day, Congress MP Manish Tewari submitted an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha, seeking a discussion on the India-US trade agreement.
India and the US reached a trade deal Monday (February 2), following a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.
“I move that this House do suspend Question Hour, Zero Hour and all other listed business of the day to take up an urgent matter of grave public importance, namely the reported statement issued by the President of the United States claiming that the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India has agreed to (i) stop purchasing Russian oil, (ii) substantially increase of oil imports from the United States and Venezuela, (iii) reduce Indian tariffs and non-tariff barriers to zero, and (iv) commit to procurement of over 500 billion dollars of American goods,” Tewari wrote in the motion.
If such commitments have indeed been made, the Congress MP said that they will have “serious implications for India’s energy security, price stability, and independent foreign policy”.
“Russian crude has helped moderate fuel inflation, and any abrupt shift could burden citizens and industry. Large trade concessions may also affect domestic manufacturing, farmers, and MSMEs,” he added.
Tewari urged the Centre to make an “immediate statement and allow a full discussion so that the nation is not presented with decisions taken without transparency in matters of trade, energy, and foreign policy.”
Meanwhile, as part of the trade agreement, US tariffs on Indian goods were reduced to 18 per cent, while India agreed to ease certain trade barriers on American products.
The trade agreement has drawn criticism from opposition parties, which have described the pact as disproportionately beneficial to the US and not in India’s interest.
Earlier Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “compromised” and “under pressure”, claiming that this is the reason behind the signing of the India-US trade agreement.
Additionally, the Lok Sabha had suspended eight opposition MPs Tuesday for “disrupting” the House proceedings and throwing papers towards the Chair for the remainder of the Budget Session.
The opposition MPs — Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, S. Venkatesh, and Dean Kuriakose — are from the Congress party.
The motion was passed amid heavy sloganeering from the opposition benches.
