Parliament's Monsoon Session begins with adjournments

New Delhi: The Monsoon Session of Parliament began on a stormy note on Monday with the opposition demanding discussion on issues ranging from price rise to the Agnipath scheme.

The morning session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned to allow members to vote in the presidential election even as opposition members tried to raise some issues.

In the Rajya Sabha, Congress members trooped to the Well of the House raising slogans as soon as Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu read out the obituary references.

“As some people have come determined not to allow the House to function and also enable members to go and vote in the Presidential election, I am adjourning the House for the day,” Naidu said.

In the Lok Sabha, three newly-elected members – Bollywood actor and Trinamool Congress' Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol, West Bengal) and two BJP members from Uttar Pradesh Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua (Azamgarh) and Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi (Rampur) — took oath as member of the Lok Sabha.

As opposition members raised slogans, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said elections in India are celebrated as a festival and since the election to the president was underway, it should also be celebrated.

The Speaker said members should participate in the festival and adjourned the House adjourned till 2 pm Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress President Sonia Gandhi were among those present in the Lok Sabha.

As the Lok Sabha re-convened at 2 pm, members of Left parties were in the well of the House waving placards protesting rising inflation while Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was trying to raise some issue.

Chowdhury said the opposition wanted to raise issues such as price rise and the Agnipath scheme, but the House was adjourned to allow members to cast their vote in the presidential election.

BJP member Rajendra Agarwal, who was in the chair, allowed the laying of parliamentary papers on the table of the House.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha.

As the opposition uproar continued, Agarwal adjourned the proceedings for the day.

Earlier, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha paid homage to former Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe, ex United Arab Emirates president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Kenya's third president Mwai Kibaki.

The Lok Sabha Speaker also read out obituary references of eight former members of the House who passed away recently. They are Rabindar Kumar Rana (Bihar), T Basheeer (Kerala), Nawal Kishore Rai (Bihar), Sukh Ram (Himachal Pradesh), Hussain Dalwai (Maharashtra), Shivaji Patnaik (Odisha), Chakra Dhari Singh (Madhya Pradesh) and Harivansh Sahai (Uttar Pradesh).

In the Rajya Sabha, Naidu made obituary references to former members Kishore Kumar Mohanty, Robert Kharshiing, K K Veerappan and santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament started on Monday and subject to exigencies of government business, it will conclude on August 12.