LS adjourned for the day; condoles TMC member's demise

Rajya Sabha adjourned twice over ruckus by BJP and SP over various issues

The Lok Sabha was adjourned today without transacting any business as a mark of respect for Trinamool Congress member Ambika Banerjee who died early this morning.

Banerjee, who was an MP from Howrah, was 84.

As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Meira Kumar condoled his death.

Banerjee was a member of the West Bengal Assembly five times and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Urban Development and Committee on Public Undertakings.

Lok Sabha also condoled the death of former member S Kuppuswamy, who was a DMK MP from Chennai North. He was 86.

The Speaker adjourned the House till tomorrow after members observed silence as a mark of respect to them.

BJP created ruckus in the Rajya Sabha demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation and dismissal of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar over coal block allocation scam leading to two adjournments before lunch.

Members from Left, SP and AGP also protested on different issues.

Left members held banners on the multi-crore chit fund fraud in West Bengal that read "protect interest of subscribers and agents of Saradha Chit Fund scam", while AGP members protested the proposed transfer of land to Bangladesh.

SP members trooped into the Well raising the issue of Chinese incursion soon after the House began.

Hardly had Chairman Hamid Ansari called the House to order, BJP, SP and Left members were on their feet.

As Ansari took up the first listed question, BJP and SP members trooped into the Well. "Sharam karo, sharam karo, Pradhan Mantri sharam karo (shame, shame, prime minister)," the BJP members shouted.

He asked members to go back to their places saying it was Question Hour. As his pleas went unheeded, Ansari adjourned the House till noon.

Similar scenes were repeated when the House re-assembled with BJP members trooping into the Well shouting slogans "PM resign", "Dismiss Law Minister" and "government of corrupts will not be allowed to remain".

AGP members Birendra Prasad Baishya and Kumar Dipak Das also came into the Well waving posters that opposed transfer of Indian land to Bangladesh.

Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid, who was to introduce a Constitutional amendment bill in this regard, briefly talked to Baishya.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien asked Baishya to go back saying showing placards was "gross indiscipline". Amid din, he adjourned the House till 2 PM.