Members of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party on Thursday forced the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for an hour, over the alleged inflammatory remarks made by Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Bahuguna Joshi, against state Chief Minister Mayawati.
Soon after the House mourned the death of former member G Vijaya Mohan Reddy, BSP and SP members sprang to their feet, seeking suspension of the Question Hour to discuss the remarks made by Joshi at a rally in Moradabad.
Chairman Hamid Ansari disallowed the members' request to suspend the Question Hour leading to more noisy scenes. Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu said the reported remarks were 'shocking' and the entire country was agitated over them.
Ansari said the issue was 'serious enough' to be discussed but the Question Hour could not be suspended and the members were free to raise the issue in Zero Hour.
Unrelenting BSP and SP members continued to raise the issue and the Left parties too supported them. As the din continued, Ansari adjourned the house till 12 pm.
This is the first time during the current session of Parliament that the House has been adjourned during Question Hour.
The Lok Sabha also witnessed Congress members clashing with BSP MPs on the issue.
Congress member Jagdambika Pal and some of his party colleagues tried to raise the matter in the LS, while the BSP members tried to defend the UP government's actions.
SP and BJP members joined in the proceedings, leading to turmoil in the House. Speaker Meira Kumar's repeated appeals to raise the matter during Zero Hour went in vain, following which she adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.
As the House reassembled, similar scenes were witnessed, leading to adjournment of the House till 12 pm.
With additional inputs from PTI
