Pandemonium in Parliament for 11th day

The pandemonium in Parliament over corruption issue continued for the 11th day on Friday disrupting functioning, but members gave a break to their agitation to pay homage to the martyrs of Mumbai terror attacks on its second anniversary.

Both Houses witnessed a brief spell of calm after so many days of uproar when statements paying tributes to the 26/11 victims were read out by Chairman Hamid Ansari in Rajya Sabha and Speaker Meira Kumar in Lok Sabha.

In the Rajya Sabha, Ansari read out a statement paying tributes to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks and mourned the death of 391 people in a stampede in Cambodia.

In the Lok Sabha, Kumar made a statement on the Mumbai terror attacks, after which members observed silence. Peace was short-lived in both Houses as pandemonium resumed immediately thereafter with members from the treasury and opposition benches making vociferous demands for action against the corrupt.

The Upper House even witnessed a scuffle after a DMK member displayed a placard against All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa which infuriated her party members who tried to snatch the papers.

The House was adjourned till 1430 hours to take up Private Members' business. Earlier when the House met for the day, Opposition members were in the well even before Ansari came in.

They, however, took their seats after Ansari said he had to make obituary reference. After the obituary reference, the members again created unruly scenes forcing adjournment of the House till noon.

In the Lok Sabha too, calm was witnessed for a brief while when the House took up the obituary reference in memory of the 26/11 victims.

An Independent member elected from Banka in Bihar, Putul Kumari, took oath.

But the moment the Speaker took up the Question Hour, Opposition members from BJP, Shiv Sena, BJD, SP and AIADMK trooped to the well demanding a JPC probe into alleged irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation.

Congress members were simultaneously on their feet demanding resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa over allegations of wrong doings in land allotments in the state.

They also raised placards demanding dismissal of BJD government in Karnataka on the Vedanta land deal issue. 'Follow footsteps of Congress to save Karnataka from the worst ever Chief Minister' read a placard waved by a Congress member, while another showed a placard saying 'Sack (Orissa Chief Minister) Naveen Patnaik'.

Te Opposition members displayed copies of newspapers carrying reports, including those on Supreme Court asking CBI why it had not questioned former Telecom Minister A Raja. \

As the din continued, Kumar adjourned the House till noon. Later, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 1530 hours to take up private members business.