GUWAHATI, Sept 4 - The Congress today staged a walkout in the Assembly when Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami refused to allow an adjournment motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition in the House, Debabrata Saikia, for a discussion on price rise.
The Speaker said the rules of procedure for conduct of business in the Assembly did not allow an adjournment motion on the subject as sought by the Congress even though they could have it on a later date.
This led to a heated exchange between the Treasury and the Opposition benches, with both seeking to justify their points on the admissibility of the motion.
The Speaker, who had to intervene several times, finally reserved his ruling, following which the Congress members walked out of the house as a mark of protest.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, while terming price rise as a conspicuous phenomenon for the last 15 years or so, said it was not a matter of sudden development warranting adjournment. �It is a matter of general administration and it cannot be a subject of adjournment motion. The Opposition can use other devices for raising the matter,� he said.
Congress member Rakibul Hussain said that the matter was �definite, urgent and in public interest�, and therefore fulfilled the laid-down conditions for an adjournment motion.
