Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar on Tuesday expressed his displeasure over the ongoing practice by members in Lok Sabha to quote from unauthenticated books and documents and pleaded that it must be stopped.

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Intervening in the debate on the no-trust motion against the government when Bahujan Samaj Party member Rashid Alvi was speaking, Chandrashekhar pointed out that the practice was disconcerting.

He referred to Defence Minister George Fernandes quoting from a book while participating in the debate and underscored that nobody knew whether the book in question was worth quoting.

The former prime minister made an impassioned plea for stopping the practice and was supported in his contention by former speaker and senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil.

Chandra Shekhar on observing that Bharatiya Janata Party member Uma Bharati had a book in her hand asked her to put it away.

She interrupted Chandra Shekhar to say that she had a right to respond to him but  the former refused to yield.

He pointed out that even if somebody quoted from a book, which said undesirable things about Bharati, he would object. This elicited prolonged laughter in the house.

"Chandra Shekharji's proposal is good but it should be applied equally," Bharati contended and recited an Urdu couplet to prove her point.

Her contention was met with approval from the treasury benches who nodded vigorously in agreement.

She indicated that opposition leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi frequently referred to documents and, therefore, the proposal by the former prime minister should be equally applied on all members.

Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed agreeing with the former prime minister's submission said the practice of members quoting from unauthenticated books should be stopped.

He contended that from henceforth only the speaker would allow quotations or references from book after judging their worth.

Chandra Shekhar also expressed his displeasure on Alvi after the latter questioned whether Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was also responsible for starting riots in Uttar Pradesh.

Alvi's query triggered uproar among the SP members who began calling him 'Mayawati's chamcha.'

Chandra Shekhar also upbraided Alvi for his contention that Chief Minister Mayawati, who was a daughter of a dalit, was running a government.

"The daughter of a dalit cannot go on doing what she pleases," the former prime minister pointed out and urged the BSP member to desist from making baseless charges against his colleagues.

Alvi had contended that during Yadav's chief ministerial tenure, Muslims had been killed in Bijnore in UP.