BJP hits out at Congress over Lok Sabha showdown

The BJP Thursday came down heavily on the Congress-led government for the showdown in the Lok Sabha, calling it "disgraceful" and a "blow to Indian democracy".

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran L.K. Advani said he was "sad".

"I have never seen such scenes. It was disgraceful. I feel very sad," Advani told reporters after an expelled Congress member used pepper spray inside the Lok Sabha to disrupt its proceedings over the Telangana issue.

"It's not a question of suspension. Is this the way parliament functions? In this chaotic situation, I feel that the government should not take up anything other than the vote on account," Advani said.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj questioned if the Telangana bill was introduced at all, and blamed the Congress for it.

"Whatever happened today crossed all limits. It is not only unfortunate but shameful and Congress is responsible for it. I feel it was a part of the design. The government wanted ruckus," Sushma Swaraj told reporters.

"Until I was in the house, they had not even read an 'I' of the introduction. I was in the house for a long time. I don't know when the speaker came, when the bill was introduced," she said.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley called it a "blow to India's parliamentary democracy".

"Today's incident in the Lok Sabha is a serious blow to India's parliamentary democracy. Dangerous and prohibited devices are used to block the parliamentary proceedings. Members are unsure of what actually happened," Jaitley wrote in his blog.

The BJP leader went ahead to call it "theatre of the absurd".

He said it could have been avoided if the Congress leadership had done adequate homework and was able to control its own members.

There was commotion and confusion in the Lok Sabha during introduction of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, for formation of a separate Telangana state, as MPs came to clashes.

Expelled Congress MP L. Rajagopal used pepper spray, sending scores of MPs, Lok Sabha officials, and journalists in the media gallery running for cover, coughing violently and with a burning sensation in eyes. Some of the MPs were rushed to a hospital.