SIGNALLING the end of the gridlock between treasury and Opposition benches, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday afternoon took up a discussion on the Union Budget, which had been held up for days over the Opposition’s demand that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak on a variety of issues. When the House assembled at 2 pm after two adjournments, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the Chair, asked Congress member Shashi Tharoor to initiate the debate and the Thiruvananthapuram MP started speaking on the issue.

 

The thaw came soon after Opposition parties submitted a notice to bring a resolution to remove Om Birla as Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Since February 2, the Lok Sabha has witnessed unruly scenes and repeat ed disruptions that led to the sus pension of seven Congress members and one CPI(M) member for the rest of the Budget session. Apprehending unpleasant scenes, Birla requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the House last week when he was to respond to the Motion ofThanks to President’s address.