New Delhi:
In both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition was on its feet with a fusillade targeting the government for its inability to reign in prices intertwined with its unwillingness to allow a vote on the issue. That meant by lunch, both houses were adjourned for the day.
What the Opposition wants is a discussion on price rise followed by a vote. So both the Left and the BJP have submitted separate notices asking for an adjournment motion.
"We want that all work should be suspended and the Adjournment Motion taken up on priority. The entire opposition is united on this," said the BJP's Sushma Swaraj.
While the government says it welcomes a debate on the issue, it won't allow a vote, arguing that price rise was already voted on in a Cut Motion in April which it sailed through.
The government's floor managers watched in dismay as traditional allies rushed to the well of both houses. Mayawati's BSP, Lalu's RJD and Mulayam's SP have all chosen in the past to support the government on key legislation and votes. Today, they shouted provocative slogans against the government. "Joh sarkar nikkammi hai, woh sarkar badalni hai," was Mulayam's battle cry.
The Left wants an explanation for why petrol prices have been deregulated, and why essentials like kerosene have become more expensive. "We are asking rollback your hike in petrol prices...now none of these can be addressed unless the government is under pressure...there is going to be a vote in the house which it can lose," said Sitaram Yechury of the CPM.
The Congress' opposition to a vote is based, like all politics, on a numbers game. In the Lok Sabha, it is safe. During April's cut motion over increased petrol prices, 289 MPs voted for the government; 201 were against it.
But in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress had the support of just 89 of the 243 MPs. This time, the Congress can't count on Lalu, Mulayam or Mayawati to stand by it. In April, they didn't want to face the prospect of elections. Now, if the Congress loses, the government may not be in danger, but its dependence on them will be obvious.
For the BJP, a prolonged and heated discussion on price rise will help deflect some of the embarrassment caused to it by the arrest of one of its main men in Gujarat - Amit Shah. A close aide of Chief Minister Narendra Modi's, Shah has been arrested for murder.
The BJP has vowed that it will not allow any progress in parliament till the government agrees to a vote on price rise. So like today, Wednesday is likely to see angry scenes and adjournments in parliament.