Parliament adjourned over coal blocks issue

New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) Both houses of parliament were adjourned till 2 p.m. Monday as the BJP demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the contentious issue of coal blocks allocation.

However, it was agreed at an all-party meeting, called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to break the ongoing logjam, to take up the crucial finance bill along with the railway appropriation bill and the demands for grants of various ministries Tuesday, said sources.

The financial business needed to be passed on a priority basis as it will facilitate the funds required to ensure the smooth running of the government, they said.

Before the all-party meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath appealed to the opposition to allow the house to function.

Both the houses were first adjourned till noon and then till 2 p.m.

In the lower house, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members came near the speaker's podium soon after the house met after its first adjournment and raised slogans demanding the prime minister's resignation.

Amidst the din, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav raised the issue of Chinese incursion in the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir.

As unruly scenes continued, Congress MP Girija Vyas, who was in the chair, adjourned the house till 2 p.m.

The BJP has sought a statement from the government on the coal blocks allocation and alleged that Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and the Prime Minister's Office interfered with the work of the Central Bureau of Investigation's probe into the issue.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Hamid Ansari earlier adjourned the house till noon after members of the BJP did not allow the Question Hour to commence.

The chairman's repeated requests to allow the Question Hour to proceed went unheeded. As the opposition members did not relent, Ansari adjourned the house till noon. When the ruckus continued even after the house met again, it was then adjourned till 2 p.m.

Both the houses have seen repeated disruptions by opposition parties over the allocation of coal blocks and the 2G spectrum issues.