Strict action against MPs who tried to 'gas' LS, says shocked govt

Strongest possible action will be taken against Members of Parliament involved in the "gassing" of Lok Sabha on Thursday as it was an attempt to "kill" the members, the government said, soon after the House witnessed unprecedented unruly scenes when the controversial Telangana bill was introduced.

"Members tried to use gas in the House. I did not see but I am informed that there was a knife, there was gas, there were other kinds of weapons. The circumstances and incidents which took place in the House are a big blot on our parliamentary democracy," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath told reporters.

Both Kamal Nath and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said that strong possible action will be taken against the erring MPs.

"They want strong action to be taken against the concerned members of Parliament because it was an attempt to kill other members," Shukla said.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde also said, "We will take action".

He confirmed that the Telangana bill has been introduced in Parliament and it is now the property of the House.

Noting that parliamentary democracy provides for dissent but does not allow the kind of disruptions and attempted violence as witnessed in the House today, Kamal Nath said, "This negates the fundamentals and the foundation of our democracy. Many party leaders have asked me to request the Speaker to take action against those who have done such things and it is a very unfortunate (incident) in my 33 years of parliamentary life. I feel ashamed that such an incident has taken place”.

"Since the incident happened in the precincts of the House, it is only the Speaker who can decide on the course of action. Various political parties are going to appeal to the Speaker to take the strongest possible action against those who indulged in such violence," the parliamentary affairs minister said.

Kamal Nath said it was up to the Speaker Meira Kumar to decide how she would like to deal with the situation.

"We will meet the Speaker and take steps," he said, adding that the government was committed to the passage of the Telangana bill.

Twenty five members, he said, would not be allowed to hold the House to ransom.

The minister also said the rules do not provide for MPs to be searched.

"Nobody was searched because rules take into account that members would respect the dignity of the House. Framers of the Constitution had never expected such kind of behaviour from sitting members of the House," he added.

Image: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla