Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) Upset over opposition MPs frequently disrupting question hour in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar Wednesday rued that the parliamentary tradition was “almost dead” and its sanctity destroyed.

With Samajwadi Party members continuing to protest in the Lok Sabha for the third consecutive day against the Uttar Pradesh government’s crackdown on their party, Meira Kumar said she disapproved of their disruptions.

“You cannot disrupt the question hour in this fashion. You cannot destroy the sanctity of the question hour. Just go back to your seats,” a visibly angry speaker told the Samajwadi members who raised slogans and walked to the speaker’s seat.

“The question hour is almost dead. There is need to revive it,” the speaker said.

Earlier, Samajwadi MP Shailendra Kumar raised the issue of Kannauj MP and party state president Akhilesh Yadav’s arrest at the Lucknow airport while on his way to lead protests against the Mayawati government.

With Samajwadi members kept chanting slogans, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayanasamy, Congress member Sanjay Nirupam and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh walked to them and urged them to return to their seats.

But the strong remarks from the speaker had its effect on the Samajwadi members, who went back to their seats.

The angry words from Meira Kumar comes a day after Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari shifted the question hour in the upper house to 2 p.m. due to frequent disruptions.