New Delhi: The purportedly illegal land deals of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi`s son-in-law Robert Vadra forced a number of adjournments of the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday as BJP members demanded a discussion on the issue. No business could, thus, be transacted in the pre-lunch session.
As soon as the house met 11 am, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members demanded a discussion on IAS officer Ashok Khemka`s allegations in land deals involving Vadra.
The BJP`s Prakash Javadekar had served notice demanding suspension of question hour in the house.
Rajya Sabha chairperson Hamid Ansari`s repeated requests for maintaining order fell on deaf ears as BJP members continued their protests.
"Every single rule, every single etiquette is being violated. If the honourable members want this to become a federation of anarchists, then it`s a different thing," said Ansari, who then adjourned the house till noon.
When the House met at noon, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley asked Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to expunge Ansari`s comments from the records.
Kurien, however, said the chairman did not target any member and reserved his decision on the issue.
BJP members then again started shouting slogans calling Vadra a "thief".
"He is a thief, so what if he is a son-in-law," BJP members shouted.
Several Congress members were also on their feet rebutting the BJP`s attack.
The house was adjourned for half-an-hour till 12.38 pm.
The situation was no different when the House reassembled.
While BJP raised slogans attacking Congress and Vadra, Congress members shouted counter slogans.
"Congress ka haath, damaad ke saath` (hand of Congress is with the son-in-law) chanted BJP members, seeking to draw the attention on the Vadra issue in the Lok Sabha.
This was met with counter slogans ,`Congress ka haath, janata ke saath, garib ke saath` (hand of Congress is with the people and the poor) by ruling party members.
Taking an obvious dig at Vadra, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha BJP said, "Though there are several business schools which teach models of making money, there is one highly connected person who did not go to any such school but has given a model where no investment is made but windfall gains of thousands of crores are made."
“There is one highly connected person in our country who hasn`t gone to any business school but made 100s of crores of rupees,” BJP’s Yashwant Sinha said.
“Not only Haryana but in entire NCR, whereever Congress is in government, Robert Vadra has indulged in land scams,” Sinha added, demanding a Supreme Court-monitored SIT probe into Vadra’s deals.
The house was then adjourned till 2 pm amidst the din.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 4 pm following disruptions even after an all-party meet agreed to let the House run and debate the Food Security Bill.
When the House reconvened, it was adjourned till 3 pm and then for another hour as TDP and a section of Congress members protested noisily against the creation of Telangana.
Food Minister KV Thomas tried but could not make his opening remarks on the Food Security Bill.
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said there was a general agreement on running the House.
The House has been repeatedly disrupted since Monday over the communal clashes in Jammu region and the corruption charges hurled against Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
IANS/PTI
