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Protests force LS adjournment even after bill's introduction

The Lok Sabha was again adjourned for about an hour in the afternoon (till 1630 hours) as Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party members rushed into the well and raised slogans to protest the ''bulldozer'' introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill.

This was the fourth adjournment of the House today and the second over the bill. (Soon after the introduction of the bill, Speaker Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi had adjourned the House for an hour to stall protests from members).

Communist Party of India-Marxist's Basudev Acharya, who was in the chair at 1540 hours, had successfully managed to keep the SP and RJD protesters at bay by pointing out that the bill was already introduced and the members could bring in amendments if they had any reservations over the provisions. The protesting members said the government ''bulldozed'' the bill through and the normal rules of introduction were ignored.

The chair ruled that things were in order and moved into the next item on the agenda, the Coffee (amendment) Bill. At that point, the protesting members became restive and trooped into the well to disrupt the proceedings. Acharya promptly adjourned the House and walked back to the chamber.

UNI

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