Lucknow, Aug 17 (IANS): The Monsoon Session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly began on Tuesday with the opposition staging protests outside.

Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs came in bullock carts, carrying placards on Covid deaths, rise in fuel prices and holding sugarcane sticks.

The protest was in line with party chief Akhilesh Yadav's statement that the BJP was keen to shift focus from issues related to the welfare of people, and SP will ensure that such topics are debated upon.

The focus of protest was on growing unemployment, deteriorating law and order in the state, and the government's alleged failure to extend medical help to Covid-19 patients during the second wave.

Congress MLAs also came on foot and some on cycles to the Vidhan Sabha and carried vegetables to register their protest against the rising prices.

Meanwhile, the House adjourned on Tuesday after paying tributes to those who passed away in the past months in obituary references.

The state government will present its first supplementary demands for grants for 2021-22 in the Assembly on Wednesday and get them passed on Thursday (August 19).

The major Opposition parties, meanwhile, are demanding more sittings to discuss key issues in the five-day Monsoon Session.

Media passes have not been issued citing Covid protocols and prohibitory orders have also been clamped around the Vidhan Sabha.