Both houses of Parliament were adjourned for the fourth successive day on Thursday following protests by opposition members against the decision to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail.
As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar tried to initiate Question Hour in the Lok Sabha after an obituary reference and a resolution on World AIDS Day, opposition members stood up and shouted slogans demanding a rollback of the decision on foreign direct investment in multi-brand and single-brand retail. Several MPs moved towards the speaker's podium. MPs from Kerala, belonging to both the Congress and the opposition, held up placards demanding the construction of a new dam in place of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam.
As the ruckus continued, the speaker adjourned the Lok Sabha till noon. Opposition protests continued when the house re-assembled. Deputy Speaker Karia Munda then adjourned the house for the day. Similar protests marked the beginning of the day in the Rajya Sabha with Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourning the upper house till 12 noon as the clamour over protests on FDI and the Mullaperiyar dam continued.
The protests over FDI continued the Rajya Sabha re-convened, forcing deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan to adjourn the House till on Friday. This was the fourth day of the logjam in Parliament over the FDI issue. In fact, no substantial business has been conducted in the Winter Session of Parliament that began November 22 because of adjournments over price rise, FDI, Telangana and other issues.