Rajya Sabha adjourned twice amid uproar over UP weavers' plight

NEW DELHI: BSP and SP members today created ruckus in the Rajya Sabha over the plight of weavers in Uttar Pradesh leading to two quick adjournments during Question Hour.

Trouble started when Salim Ansari (BSP) asked a supplementary question on problems of Banarsi saree weavers in marketing their products and wanted to know if the Centre would consider buying their product directly.

As Textiles Minister Anand Sharma said problems facing weavers were a matter of concern for the House and the Government, Brajesh Pathak (BSP) rose to say that the minister should state facts and not make an election speech.

He was joined by Ansari, Naresh Agrawal (SP) and Kusum Rai (BJP) who alleged that the Centre was not serious about the plight of the weavers and the minister was making only political statements.

Other members of SP and BSP soon joined them, accusing Sharma of evading a direct reply and not stating if the Union government will buy products directly so that weavers get remunerative price for their work and are saved from being fleeced by middlemen.

Maintaining that he had given a detailed reply to the main question which was on schemes for handloom sector and weavers, Sharma said the government was not buying goods from weavers for 15 years and was only intervening through loan waivers.

This did not satisfy the members and they kept protesting leading to commotion in the House. When Agarwal and Munquad Ali (BSP) moved towards the Well, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the House for 10 minutes.

When the House reassembled, the matter was raised again. As some members trooped into the Well, the House was adjourned till noon.