The Nanavati Commission report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots today rocked Parliament as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Akali Dal members made a vociferous demand for action against those involved in the violence, leading to the adjournment of both Houses for the day.
Hardly had the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met this morning, than agitated National Democratic Alliance members, mostly belonging to the BJP and the Akali Dal, sprang to their feet and charged the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government with trying to protect their leaders.
Waving newspapers carrying reports about the Nanavati Commission findings which were tabled in Parliament yesterday, the members trooped into the well in both the Houses and chanted slogans demanding action against those
guilty.
In the din, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the House for the day, barely five minutes after it
assembled this morning.
The Rajya Sabha, which also witnessed similar scenes, was adjourned first during the Question Hour and then for the
entire day.
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As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, NDA members, led by the BJP's V K Malhotra, charged the UPA government with trying to save their leaders who, the members alleged, were responsible for the riots. This triggered off a strong reaction from the Congress benches.
Amidst the uproar, the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and other NDA members trooped into the well, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day, within minutes after it met.
The NDA members continued to shout slogans even after the Speaker asked Malhotra to raise the issue.
The slogan-shouting Opposition members alleged that each and every page of the Nanavati Commission report had blamed the Congress for engineering the riots.
The Congress members shouted back, charging the BJP with launching a pogrom against minorities in Gujarat.
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In the Rajya Sabha, the matter was raised by BJP leader Sushma Swaraj who said going by the Nanavati Commission
report, it seemed the entire Congress party was involved in the riots which left 3,000 Sikhs dead.
The Opposition members, led by Raj Mohinder Singh Majitha (Akali Dal), then moved into the well demanding action against the guilty.
When BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said a notice had been given for suspension of Question Hour, chairman Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat said he had not received it.
The chairman told the agitated members that he was prepared for a discussion on the Nanavati report today itself
if the members so desired.
As the Opposition remained unrelenting, Shekhawat adjourned the House till noon. When the House reassembled, similar scenes were witnessed as the BJP and Akali Dal members again stormed the well, flaunting newspapers and shouting slogans.
After the chairman's repeated pleas to them to go back to their seats went unheeded, the House was adjourned for the
day.
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