Pressing for admission of an adjournment motion on price rise issue, opposition today slammed the government in the Lok Sabha for its "failure" to control the hike.

In an impassioned plea to the chair to take up the notices for adjournment motion, Leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj attacked the government, saying it was torturing the 'aam admi' on whose name the UPA came to power.

"We want to censure the government because the aam admi, on whose name this government came to power, it is now torturing the common man," she said, urging the Speaker to allow the adjournment motion submitted by the opposition parties.

Swaraj said the opposition could demand a discussion under various rules but it wanted the adjournment motion under which there was no need for the government to resign even if the motion was passed.

"We just want to censure the government. The government will not fall if the motion is passed by the House," she said.

Swaraj said some parties currently part of the UPA too were supporting the motion and would vote in its favour.

"We want to censure the government on behalf of the common man, who is being troubled by the government," she said.

Earlier, as soon as the House met for the day, Swaraj and leaders of other opposition parties wanted to know why Speaker Meira Kumar was not taking up their notices for an adjournment motion.

When Kumar asked them if the House could take up the Question Hour before the adjournment motion could be taken up, the opposition parties refused to relent.

Swaraj noted that the purpose of the notice was to suspend the day's business and discuss the price rise issue.

Even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal intervened to say that the government had not yet accepted the notices for adjournment motion, opposition parties and some supporting the government from outside like SP, BSP and RJD urged the Speaker to take up the motion.

Kumar accepted the opposition demand due to the "special circumstances" under which the notices had been issued and allowed the opposition members to explain why the motion should be admitted.
Swaraj said her notices conformed to the rules of the House and therefore her adjournment motion should be allowed so that the parties could place on record the anguish of the common man over price rise.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who wanted the motion to be taken up, said the issue of price rise affected over 85 per cent of the people.

Yadav said starvation deaths were being reported from across the country, though the storage houses for foodgrains were overflowing and commodities rotting in the open instead of being distributed among the poor.

"This is the first government in which the Prime Minister says there will be further increase in prices. This means he is asking the traders to engage in profiteering," Yadav said.

Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP), supporting the opposition demand for admitting their adjournment motion, said all other business should be kept aside to take up discussion on the price rise.

He said since 2004, the prices of essential commodities have been spiralling due to the increase in the prices of petroleum products time and again by the government, impacting the poor badly.

Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said the overwhelming support to the Bharat Bandh called by the opposition parties recently was an indication of the resentment of the common man against the government and sought admission of the adjournment motion.