NEW DELHI: The monsoon session of parliament began on a rather noisy note with the members of opposition led by the Congress Party and the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) members protesting and raising slogans on a variety of issues like fuel price hike, farmers issues and spyware scandal.

Due to the continued ruckus from the opposition benches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not able to introduce the new Council of Ministers that had been recently inducted. As soon as Modi began to speak members carrying placards came into the well of the house and raised loud slogans forcing him to cut short his address. 

In his short note, PM Modi said that the opposition members were showing disrespect to the new ministers several of whom were women, Dalits and from tribal communities and parliamentary practices had been violated.

The speaker had to adjourn the proceedings of the houses several times, first till 2 p.m. but the din by the opposition did not subside, then it was adjourned again till 3.30 p.m when Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw read out a statement on the 'Pegasus Project'.

Vaishnav said reports had no factual basis and said that a report published by a web portal a day before the monsoon session of Parliament was not just a coincidence.

He said that the allegations of snooping of journalists and other public figures were totally unfounded and false, and the reports appear to be an attempt to malign Indian democracy and its well-established institutions. After he read the statement, the house was adjourned for the day.

Meanwhile, a similar pandemonium was witnessed in the upper house of Rajya Sabha and the PM could not introduce the newly-inducted ministers due to disruptions as several opposition members trooped into the well of the house raising slogans and protesting over various issues. The house had to be adjourned for the day.

Earlier, ahead of the start of the session the PM had addressed reporters and said that the opposition should ask the sharpest and toughest of questions in parliament but they should also allow the government to respond to them in a cordial environment.