Ruckus in Rajya Sabha leads to repeated adjournments

Irregularities in coal allocation, the draft JPC report on 2G spectrum, violence against women are the reasons

Irregularities in coal allocation, the draft JPC report on 2G spectrum, violence against women... the Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated disruptions on a variety of issue as it opened Monday after a month-long recess.

Soon after the oath taking and obituary references, Chairman Hamid Ansari announced that there were eight notices seeking suspension of question hour, and admitted AIADMK leader V. Maitreyan's notice on the CBI's role in the coal block allocation scam.

This led to protests from other members who questioned why their notices were not accepted.

The notices were on a variety of issues including the leakage of the draft joint parliamentary committee on 2G spectrum and heckling of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi.

Ansari said Maitreyan's notice was accepted as it came first, but the members refused to be pacified. The house was then adjourned for 15 minutes.

When the house resumed, members got involved in an argument on whether question hour should be adjourned at all for the discussion.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the debate should be taken up later but opposition members did not agree.

After a long series of arguments and counter-arguments, and after question hour was over, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the upper house till 12.30 p.m., as members continued to raise their pitch.

At 12.30 p.m., the arguments over which issue should be taken up for debate continued.

Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley demanded that Law Minister Ashwini Kumar make a suo motu statement on the allegations of interference in the CBI report on coal block allocation.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said he would have to ask the minister whether he would be able to make a statement.

As the disturbances continued, the house was adjourned till 2 p.m.