NEW DELHI: The Budget Session of Parliament today got off to a stormy start with the first day in the Lok Sabha being virtually washed out on the issue of price rise and rail fare hike as a strident Opposition insisted on a discussion under an adjournment motion.

The House managed to take up just two questions amid uproar created by members of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, RJD, SP, Aam Aadmi Party and Left as they trooped into the Well raising the issues of price rise and rail fare hike.

The Opposition wanted discussion under adjournment motion but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rejected it, saying a debate could be taken up under Rule 193 that does not entail voting.

While the Congress wanted discussion on price rise, Trinamool Congress pressed for debate on rail fare hike under adjournment motion which requires voting and amounts to censure of the government if it is passed.

The House was adjourned twice till 1400 hours before being adjourned for the day as the deadlock persisted over the Rule under which a discussion could be taken up.

Sharing concern over the price rise, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the government was ready to discuss the matter immediately and left it to the Speaker to decide under which Rule it should be done.

Mahajan said she had rejected notices for adjournment motion but accepted six notices for discussion under Rule 193.

She even called P Karunakaran (CPI-M) to initiate the discussion.

However, the Congress and some other Opposition parties insisted that the discussion should be held under the adjournment motion.

When the House met at 1400 hours, Deputy Leader of Congress Amarinder Singh said people were starving and "food prices are rising at terrible levels ... how can common man survive? We don't want only a discussion but an answer from the government. We want voting in the House because it is an important issue". 

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia mentioned that the Rajya Sabha has allowed discussion on the issue of price rise, but Mahajan said matters of the other House cannot be discussed in the Lok Sabha.

Amid uproar, the Speaker was heard saying that members were not interested in discussing issues of the poor.

"I am sorry, if you don't want to discuss (price rise) I am adjourning the House," Mahajan said and adjourned the House for the day at around 1410 hours.

Earlier, Mahajan's repeated pleas to allow the questions to be taken up went unheeded as Opposition members continued slogan shouting against hike in prices of food as well as petrol, diesel and LPG besides rail fare hike.

When the protests began soon after the House assembled for the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen standing in the aisle as his colleagues were in the Well.

Slogans like "Achha din ayega, mahangai badhayega (good days will come, prices will rise)" and 'roll back rail fare hike' were heard in the House.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) members were also in the Well opposing the ordinance on the Polavaram project.

Earlier, when the House met for the day trouble arose with Opposition members trooping into the Well.

Mahajan's repeated pleas to allow the questions to be taken up went unheeded, leading to adjournment of the House for nearly 40 minutes till noon. When the House re-assembled, similar scenes were witnessed and it was again adjourned till 1400 hours. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Prices of food items are under control and there is no need to panic, the government declared today in the Rajya Sabha, which took up an impromptu discussion on inflation on the opening day of the Budget Session after the opposition pressed for it.

The short-duration discussion saw the government put all the blame for the current situation on food prices as also the recent hike in railway passenger fares and freight and diesel prices on the previous UPA government, saying it had inherited a "legacy" from it.

During the debate, the Opposition, including the Congress, BSP, SP and Trinamool Congress, ridiculed the government and NDA's poll slogan of 'achhe din...' (good days), wondering whether it was reflected by the rise in prices of food items like onion and potato and hike in rail fares and diesel cost.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while replying to the discussion, said the 41-day-old Narendra Modi government had taken immediate steps to contain prices of food items unlike the previous dispensation during which cost of onion rose even up to Rs 100 per kilo.

He said the government was being attacked even though it was yet to outline its financial roadmap in the Rail Budget to be presented tomorrow and the General Budget on Thursday.

Members of the Opposition, including the Congress, BSP, Trinamool Congress and CPI(M), staged a walkout, expressing dissatisfaction over Jaitley's reply.

"The government is committed to contain it (inflation) because we consider it a serious and sensitive matter. There is sufficient supply (of potato and onion) and therefore there is no reason for panic," the Finance Minister said.

Jaitley said the Food and Consumer Affairs Department would continue to take steps to contain the rise in price of onion and potato and noted that the output of these two essential kitchen items have increased.

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said strict action would be taken against hoarders and middlemen as they are responsible for price rise.

Listing the steps already taken by the government, Jaitley said the Centre has issued directive to the states to crack down on hoarding, put a cap on stockholding and hiked minimum export price for onion and potato.

"For the last two years, prices of onion and potato have been rising. The then government used to wake up after prices had already risen .... We started taking steps immediately when the prices touched Rs 25 per kg," he said.

To a specific question by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury whether futures trading on various farm commodities would be banned, the minister did not give any commitment but said "the government will keep the suggestion in mind." Responding to the attack on hike in 14.2 per cent hike in rail passenger fare and 6.5 per cent raise in freight charges, Jaitley said this decision was actually taken by the UPA government on February 11 and the present government only implemented it.

Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Jaitley said, had a "Hobson's choice" as Railways' financial health was extremely bad.

"Does he (Railway Minister) follow the weak-kneed policies of his predecessor that unpopular decisions can't be taken even if they are in national interest or does he then take this decision and place this fact before the country that to run the Railways this decision was necessary," he said.

Jaitley said although the decision to raise the rail fare and freight was taken with the approval of the then Prime Minister in February, it was withdrawn within hours of implementation on May 16 as the UPA realised that it was being voted out of power.

When targeted by TMC member Derek O'Brien, he hit back indirectly targeting Trinamool chief and former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying, "I do not know whether those who handled the Railways in the past are the original sinners for the current situation." On the Re 1 hike in diesel price, the Finance Minister said the government is implementing the previous UPA's policy of gradual monthly increase. — PTI

Congress should get post of Leader of Opposition: Sonia

NEW DELHI: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday made a strong pitch for the party being given the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha contending that it is the single largest party in the Opposition.

"We are the single largest party. We have got a pre-poll alliance. Hence, we are entitled to Leader of Opposition's post," Gandhi, who is also CPP Chairperson, said in her first comments on the issue.

She, however, said the party has not decided yet whether to approach the judiciary in the matter.

Rejecting BJP's allegation that the Congress was desperate for the post and has not accepted defeat, the Congress president said, "That is not true. We have lost the elections. We are are aware of that." Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath dubbed as "lame excuse" the BJP's position that the issue was with the Lok Sabha Speaker.

"Just saying that there is a direction by the Speaker is a lame excuse to deny the Congress the position. The floor of the House is very different and Parliament is very different what it was two decades ago.

"Today politics is different. Parliamentary practices are different. Speaker's directions have been changed over years and merely because of the Speaker's direction what they (BJP) are citing is not an adequate reason for not giving the Leader of Opposition post to Congress," Nath told reporters outside Parliament House.

"I don't see what the BJP is afraid of. Was anybody afraid of? It is a mere designation and they should agree to it ... It is direction of the Speaker which they are leaning on," he said.

He said, "There is no law which says you need 10 per cent" seats in the Lok Sabha to stake claim for the post of Leader of Opposition.

Earlier in the day, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had slammed Nath for his remarks that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's decision on the issue of grant of Leader of Opposition status could be "flavoured" by theBJP.

Responding to questions over Nath's remarks on the LOP issue, Naidu had said, "It is unfortunate that such a comment has been made by a senior leader like Kamal Nath. He must have made such a comment based on his own experience. The matter will be dealt by the Speaker according to the rulebook and precedent. Once elected, the Speaker is above the party." — PTI

Belo Horizonte (Brazil): As Brazil and Germany prepare to do battle in their World Cup semi-final here tomorrow, old stereotypes of both countries' football philosophies are being rewritten.

Amazingly for two World Cup powerhouses with 24 semi-final appearances, this will be just their second meeting in the competition after the 2002 final.

Back then, a rugged German side that battled it's way to the final with a series of 1-0 wins on the back of the best goalkeeper in the tournament, Oliver Kahn, faced a Brazil side containing a magical front three of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo.

That night an uncharacteristic Kahn mistake put Luiz Felipe Scolari's Brazil on their way to a fifth title.

However, the only constants from 12 years ago may be that Scolari is back as Brazil boss and Germany still have the best 'keeper in the tournament in Manuel Neuer.

Even Neuer represents the German's style shift in the past decade with his sweeper-like ability to flee from his box and become an extra outfield player in building the play from the back.

Germany have played 500 more successful passes than anyone else in the competition and more than 1,000 more than Brazil, who still lag behind Chile despite having played a game more.

Since committing to attack when hosting the tournament in 2006, Germany have scored 40 goals in the last three World Cups helping them a record run of four consecutive semi-finals.

Their passage to the last four in Brazil by beating Algeria and France has also seen them lay to rest some ghosts of German football's less than glorious historical moments.

West Germany's perceived collusion with Austria to knock out the Algerians and Harald Schumacher's assault on France's Patrick Battiston as they reached the final 1982 was seen as the height of their win at all costs mentality.

The German sides of recent years will be much more fondly remembered by the football world at large, yet that attractive football hasn't got them over the line in the final stages.

Defeat in the final of 2002 was followed by semi-final defeats in 2006 and 2010.

Brazil's approach to hosting the tournament has been rather different.

Winning at their own World Cup is all that counts, no matter what reputations or opposing players take a battering in the process.

Scolari's men committed 31 fouls in their hunt of Colombia and, in particular, James Rodriguez in Friday's quarter-final, the most of any side in a game at this World Cup.

"I am all for hard, clean challenges, but there were one or two tackles which were over the limit," said Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger on Sunday.

"The Brazilians aren't the magicians here of old, the team has changed and so has their playing style.

"Hard challenges definitely belong to that, it's something we have to be careful of and the referee as well." The strategy was hardly an isolated one, Brazil also committed 28 fouls against Chile in the previous round.

Brazil's poster boy Neymar insisted he had no problem winning ugly before facing the Colombians, but the ugliest sight of all for his fans, teammates and coaches was him leaving the field for the final time at this World Cup on a stretcher after suffering a broken vertebrae minutes from the end of the quarter-final.

The Barcelona forward was the one residual element of the famous 'Jogo Bonito' left in this side.

As 1970 World Cup winning forward Tostao concluded earlier in the tournament: "Brazil have two strategies: number one, give it to Neymar; number two give it to Neymar." Without his flair there seems little other option than to fight their way to the final. — AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO: FIFA says the Brazilian football confederation is trying to overturn captain Thiago Silva's ban for the World Cup semifinal against Germany.

FIFA spokesman Delia Fischer says its disciplinary committee is "analyzing materials" submitted by the confederation.

Thiago Silva is suspended for Tuesday's match in Belo Horizonte after being shown a second yellow card of the tournament in 2-1 quarterfinals victory against Colombia.

The defender impeded Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina's attempt to kick the ball downfield.

Yellow cards traditionally cannot be overturned. — AP

SAO PAULO (Brazil): Argentina and the Netherlands prepare to meet again on South American soil in Wednesday's second World Cup semi-final, 36 years on from their encounter in the final of the controversial 1978 tournament in Buenos Aires.

A World Cup played out uneasily in a country under the grip of a brutal military dictatorship culminated in the hosts beating the Dutch 3-1 after extra time in the hostile environment of the Monumental Stadium, with Mario Kempes scoring twice.

For the Dutch, it was a second consecutive final defeat, after their 2-1 loss to West Germany in 1974, but no European side has come so close to winning the World Cup in South America.

The Dutch squad was missing Johan Cruyff but otherwise it was much the same as that of four years earlier, with seven players starting both finals, including captain Ruud Krol and Rob Rensenbrink.

Kempes put Argentina ahead, but substitute Dick Nanninga equalised and Rensenbrink then hit the post in the dying seconds for the Dutch.

It was an agonising miss, and Argentina took full advantage to secure their first World Cup in extra time as tournament top scorer Kempes netted again before Daniel Bertoni added another.

The result left a bitter taste in the visitors' mouth, as they claimed they were unsettled when the Argentines stalled the start of the match by complaining about a plaster cast on Rene van de Kerkhof's wrist.

"I am sure they prepared everything beforehand. They made us wait and the referee did nothing," said Krol later in David Winner's book Brilliant Orange.

Krol also said the Argentines had pressured FIFA into selecting Italy's Sergio Gonella to referee the match. And that was not the only claim made that the hosts, perhaps with the influence of dictator Jorge Videla's military government, had manipulated their way to final victory.

Indeed, in their final game of the second group stage, Argentina knew they needed to beat Peru by four clear goals to pip Brazil to a place in the final. In the end, they put six unanswered goals past Peru's Argentine-born goalkeeper Ramon Quiroga.

Come the final itself, the intimidating atmosphere left its mark on the Dutch, with Rensenbrink left to wonder how they might have made it out of the stadium had his last-minute shot gone in.

"If it had gone in, we would have won. We would have been World Champions in Argentina. It's a pity," he said in Brilliant Orange.

"Though they were pretty crazy, those Argentinians. If we'd won, going back to the hotel would have been a dangerous trip." It took Cruyff 30 years to dispel suggestions that he had refused to travel to Argentina because of his opposition to the dictatorship when in 2008 he told Catalunya Radio that he wanted to stay with his family after they were subjected to a kidnap attempt in Barcelona.

But the spectre of Videla's government hung over the competition, and the Dutch even led calls for a boycott before it started.

Argentina were awarded the right to host the finals in 1966, before Videla came to power in a coup d'etat.

The brutal 'Dirty War' followed, in which his regime committed many horrific crimes, including the forced disappearance of thousands of opponents.

Some were held and tortured at the notorious Naval Mechanics School, from where the cheers from the nearby Monumental Stadium could be heard on June 25, 1978.

"With what I know now, I can't say I'm proud of my victory. But I didn't realise. Most of us didn't. We just played football," striker Leopoldo Luque said years later, after the dictatorship's crimes and alleged interference in the competition came to light. — AFP