Parliament disrupted on first day of monsoon session

Parliament was disrupted Monday, on the first day of the monsoon session, as some members vehemently opposed the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and demanded carving of Bodoland out of Assam.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned thrice -- twice during question hour and once in the pre-lunch session. The Lok Sabha was adjourned once.

In the Lok Sabha, Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs from Andhra Pradesh opposing Telangana came near the chairman's podium to press for their demand during the question hour.

They were carrying placards: "We want justice for Seemandhra area" and "We want united Andhra Pradesh".

TDP member N. Sivaprasad tried to walk up to one of the protestors from the Congress but was stopped by his party colleagues.

Bodoland People's Front (BPF) member S.K. Bwiswmuthiary also joined the protest with a banner stating "Bodoland MPs strongly stand for a separate state of Bodoland".

Speaker Meira Kumar asked the agitating members to go back to their seats and assured them that they would be allowed to speak during zero hour but her request went unheeded forcing her to adjourn the house till noon.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned three times -- first for 15 minutes around 11.20 a.m. and then till noon.

At noon, two members from the TDP continued to voice their concern over the proposed division of Andhra Pradesh to form Telangana.

C.M. Ramesh and Y.S. Chowdary come close to the podium of the chairman and did not go back to their seats despite repeatedly being told to do so by Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien.

Kurien said the two members were holding the house to ransom. He asked them to give notice and said a discussion will be allowed.

As the members did not relent, the deputy chairman adjourned the house till 2 p.m.

Earlier, when the house resumed its proceedings at noon, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced new members of his team of ministers to the Rajya Sabha.

Chairman Hamid Ansari earlier adjourned the house twice during question hour following disruptions.

Members from the TDP and BPF came near the chairman's podium over their demands. They were also carrying posters.

Earlier, the Rajya Sabha paid tributes to its former members including Samar Mukherjee and Khurshed Alam Khan.

The house also paid tributes to people killed in Uttarakhand floods and the Congress leaders killed in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh in May.

The Lok Sabha also condoled the death of its former members, including Mahendra Karma and V.C. Shukla who were killed in the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh, and paid homage to Uttarakhand flood victims and the 23 children who died in a mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar.

The two houses congratulated the Indian cricket team for its victory in the Champions Trophy and players from other fields for their sporting achievements.

Batting mastero Sachin Tendulkar was in the Rajya Sabha when the house lauded the achievement of the Indian cricket team.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced his new ministers - Sis Ram Ola, Oscar Fernandes, Girija Vyas, K.S. Rao, E.M.S. Natchiappan, Manik Rao Gavit, Santosh Chaudhary and J.D. Seelam - to the two houses.