Parl slams Delhi HC blast, both Houses adjourned

Parliament on Wednesday unequivocally condemned the blast outside Delhi High Court and adjourned the proceedings till the government gathered facts and made a statement in both the Houses.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12:30 pm when Home Minister P Chidambaram was expected to make a statement, while the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm. At the outset, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar condemned the blast as a dastardly act and asked the government to make a statement.

Cutting across party lines, leaders condemned the blasts as a cowardly act and said the Lok Sabha cannot continue with business "while people continue to die just over a kilometer from Parliament."

Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani condemned the incident and urged the Speaker to adjourn the Lok Sabha till the government made a statement on the blast outside the High Court.

Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) also asked the Home Minister to make a statement on the issue and requested the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day.

He also said some foreign nationals come into the country undetected, carry out such incidents and get way. Sharad Yadav (Janata Dal-United) shared the views expressed by members and said the fact that the blast occurred within a kilometer from Parliament was disturbing.

Basudeb Acharia (Communist Party of India-Marxist) termed the blast as a "disturbing incident" which should be condemned not only by the House but by the entire country. He too said that the Lok Sabha should be adjourned till noon and the Home Minister should make a statement on the issue when the House meets.

Dara Singh Chauhan (Bahujan Samaj Party) condemned the blast and asked the Speaker to adjourn the House till the government made a statement.

Anant Geete (Shiv Sena) noted that even Parliament had been a target of terror attack and the entire nation has to fight this menace unitedly. T K S Elangovan (Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam) condemned the blast and asked the home minister to "look into it" and take action.

M Thambidurai (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) strongly condemned the blast and agreed with the views of his colleagues that the House be adjourned till the Home Minister makes a statement.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal (Akali Dal) said the Lok Sabha should not conduct business till the government made a statement on the incident.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal then informed the House that the Home Minister would make a statement at 12:30 PM following which the Speaker adjourned the House till then.

In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm to allow the Government to collect information on the blast. When the House met for the day, Chairman Hamid Ansari said a "disturbing news" has just trickled in about a bomb blast outside the Delhi High Court.

"There are reports of some casualties. This is something to be condemned," he said.

"As soon as facts are available, we will request the government to share it with the House," he said, adding that it could be possible by around 2 pm and adjourned the House till then.