Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will speak in Lok Sabha today at 7 pm. after disruptions in the houses regarding price hike.
Mumbai: After weeks of chaos in the parliament over the price hike, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will speak in Lok Sabha today at 7 pm. Opposition parties have called for a discussion on the matter since the beginning of the monsoon session, but the government has insisted that Ms. Sitharaman, who was out of action due to a Covid infection, would respond herself once she recovered. . The opposition wondered why two weeks of time was wasted when the same discussion could have been held earlier, with another minister commenting on the matter. One million rupees were wasted as the government avoided answering questions on the matter for two weeks, said Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
The finance minister Sitharaman’s address comes after two weeks since the monsoon session began observing huge turmoil in both the houses over the matter, the opposition kept demanding a debate on inflation, and the houses were adjourned with many MPs getting suspended for ‘unruly behavior’ as per the Speaker Om Birla.
According to government data released early last month, India’s annual retail inflation rose to 7.01% in June from 6.26% a year earlier. There were also protests against the imposition of the GST on essential items that fell outside its scope.
BJP MP Jayant Sinha set the stage just before the Finance Minister’s speech by denying that there had not been a price hike. “The opposition is trying to find a price hike but they can’t find it,” he said, accusing the opposition of “drama” in the house well.
The speaker got angry when the opposition MPs gathered in the house with packets of curd, butter and buttermilk and raised GST concerns about such staples.
Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government is ready for a discussion on rising prices in Lok Sabha today and in Rajya Sabha tomorrow. But, he said, the suspended MPs must apologize and the opposition must ensure that no MPs carry placards inside.
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