Indian parliament in uproar over food prices

India's national parliament adjourned in uproar on Tuesday after opposition parties attacked the government over galloping food prices, one of the hottest domestic political issues.
The first official working day of the three-month-long budget session ended in chaos despite appeals to the opposition by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to disrupt business.
Lawmakers from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party) took to their feet, shouting slogans and waving papers as they demanded a debate on food prices, which leapt 17.97 percent over 12 months in the first week of February.
Speaker Meira Kumar, after repeated attempts to restore order amid the din of shouting and jeering, adjourned the 543-member elected lower house. The upper house was adjourned too after similar unruly scenes.
India's inflation last week jumped to its highest level in more than a year due to the rocketing prices, particularly of cereals and sugar which have risen in response to poor harvests.