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Bedlam in Lok Sabha as Laloo dares BJP member

Apprehending physicial violence, Lok Sabha Speaker Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi today adjourned the House abruptly about 45 minutes ahead of the lunch break as one of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition members moved menacingly towards Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, who dared a BJP member for calling him ''fodder thief''.

The entire House watched in stunned silence the behaviour of RJD members who rushed to the well of the House and challenged BJP member Veerender Singh, who did not approve of Laloo Yadav's remark that the government was not doing anything except inquiring into scandals.

He made the remark while urging the government to send a central team to Bihar to assess the flood situation in the state. In the midst of his speech, one of the BJP members from the back benches commented that Laloo Yadav was a ''fodder thief''. This led to sharp exchanges between an infuriated Laloo Yadav and his party colleagues on the one side and the treasury benches. The bedlam continued for almost 15 minutes and nothing could be heard in the din.

When Veerender Singh did not heed the speaker's appeal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana admonished him.

Some BJP members took strong exception to the admonition and said Laloo Yadav was exceeding the brief.

With Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav joining the debate, things started getting out of control and both RJD and SP MPs rushed to the well of the House.

In the meantime, the Samata Party's Prabhu Nath Singh got up and attempted to force his way towards the RJD side. But timely intervention of some members saved the situation. At that moment the Speaker adjourned the House till 1300 hours.

Khurana tendered an apology for all that happened in the House and said members should be more cautious while making remarks. He said Laloo Yadav was a senior member and knew the procedures well.

Referring to the demand made by Laloo Yadav for sending a central team to Bihar, Khurana said he would find out whether the Bihar government had asked for sending such a team.

Laloo Yadav, Khurana said, was the ''uncrowned king'' of Bihar and should know the facts well.

Khurana said the provocation came from the BJP mainly because of the language, tone and tenor of the Opposition. ''All these things should not have happened,'' he said.

UNI

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