Parliament was rocked for the second day on Friday over the new sugarcane pricing policy with a united opposition mounting further pressure on the government to withdraw the controversial Ordinance that saw massive farmers' protests on Thursday.
It was trouble from the word go in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha as opposition parties closed ranks to take on the government which has convened an all-party meeting on Monday to hammer out a solution.
"Withdraw the black order", "Take back anti-farmers' ordinance," shouted members of BJP and SP who stormed the well in both Houses.
The agitated opposition was protesting against Sugar Control (Amendment) Order, which fixes a uniform Central Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane growers. Anything over and above the FRP will have to be borne by the states unlike in the past when the burden was to be taken by the mills.
Besides the new pricing policy, the farmers especially in Uttar Pradesh are demanding hike in cane prices because they feel the industry is making huge profits as sugar is selling at Rs 40 a kg.
Members of Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal and Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal were also in the well in the Lok Sabha, while members of almost the entire opposition were on their feet in support of the demand.
Both the Houses witnessed adjournments soon after they met for the day.
The Rajya Sabha was forced to call it a day after two adjournments while the Lok Sabha after one adjournment.
In the din, Speaker Meira Kumar in the Lok Sabha and Chairman Hamid Ansari in the Rajya Sabha ordered tabling of listed papers including statement of Petroleum Minister Murli Deora in the Lower House on the recent fire incident in the IOC depot in Jaipur.
BJP members Varun Gandhi, Gopinath Munde and SP's Dharmendra Yadav were among those who stormed the well in the Lok Sabha. PTI
