Advani asks Rahul to control his MPs in Lok Sabha

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was Wednesday advised by BJP veteran L.K. Advani to ask party MPs to restrain themselves in the Lok Sabha, after the Congress leader led a charge in the house against the government.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there was a coup within the Congress, which was later denied by party president Sonia Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi met Advani after he and Congress MPs disrupted the lower house demanding a debate on communal violence, sources said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, according to sources, was upset due to the disruptions in the house, and wanted the floor managers of the National Democratic Alliance to resolve the issue.

The Congress vice president Wednesday led party members to the speaker's podium to protest the government's refusal to agree to an immediate discussion on the increasing incidence of communal clashes in the country.

The Lok Sabha witnessed continuous protests from opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal over their demand for discussion on the issue.

Jaitley said they were making an issue out of a non-issue.

"Why has Congress made an issue of this non-issue? Reason is clear, a section of the party, unable to lead, is facing a palace coup," he said.

Jaitley alleged there was a coup within the party.

"If you want to show yourself as doing something, it will be better if you lead your own party, rather than develop a contrived aggression against the functioning of the house itself, which otherwise has been functioning well," Jaitley said.

"Day after day, established leaders of the party (Congress) are speaking out. It is an internal compulsion within the party. For that, you need not drag the house of the presiding officer into the debate," he said.

Sonia Gandhi, however, rejected Jaitley's allegations.

"Let them say whatever they want to say," she said when asked about Jaitley's comments.

Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP said: "Rahul Gandhi calling the speaker 'partial' is unfortunate and avoidable. It is pure frustration and nothing else."

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the government was ready for any debate.

"There is peace in the country, let peace prevail in parliament. We are ready for any debate," Naidu said.