Uproar in Parliament forces adjournment

In the Lok Sabha, the trouble broke out immediately after Deputy Speaker Suraj Bhan paid obituary reference to Laisram Achaw Singh, a member of the second Lok Sabha from Manipur, who died on November 14. The House observed a minute’s silence in memory of the departed member.

Even as the deputy speaker asked Bhakta Charan Das (SJP) to take up the first listed question, Congress members began vociferous chants of DMK hatao, desh bachao and Rajiv Gandhi amar rahe.

The DMK members countered by shouting that the Congress was afraid of a discussion on the Jain Commission report. “You are anti-democratic, anti-people,” they charged the Congress members.

The deputy speaker repeatedly appealed to members to maintain decorum and raise the issues after the question hour. But his pleas fell on deaf ears. In the din, he adjourned the House till Monday.

In the Rajya Sabha too, trouble began soon after Chairman Krishan Kant made an obituary reference to the passing away of a former member M Kamalanathan.Syed Sibte Razi (Cong) sprang to his feet, pre-empting any move by the chair to take up the question hour, and said the Congress party had made it clear that it would not support the governmnet if the ministers of DMK party, which was indicted by the Jain panel report in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, were not removed.

He was joined by his party colleagues who shouted slogans such as “Punish the killers of Rajiv Gandhi” and said they would not allow the House to conduct any business till the party’s demand was met.

Members of Janata Dal, Left parties and lone DMK member Duraisamy made a vain bid to outshout the Congress as members of the main Opposition BJP watched with apparent amusement.

As the shouting persisted, Kant abruptly announced the adjournment of the House.