Telangana: Parliament adjourned after uproar

Both houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon after an uproar over the formation of Telangana state.

New Delhi: Parliament was adjourned for almost an hour this morning as members trooped into the Well raising Telangana and other issues.

As soon as Lok Sabha assembled for the day and Speaker Meira Kumar paid tributes to a departed former MP Bheem Singh Patel, Congress members from Andhra Pradesh, including some central ministers, trooped into the Well. They raised slogans to protest moves to carve out separate Telangana state. Minister MM Pallam Raju stood in the aisle, while his ministerial colleague D Purandeshwari was in the Well. AIADMK members were also in the Well protesting attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy. Shailendra Kumar (SP), who too was in the Well, sought inclusion of some castes in the scheduled castes list while a member from Maharashtra demanded passage of SC/ST sub-plan bill. The Speaker began the Question Hour but as the din continued, she adjourned the House till noon. In Rajya Sabha, TDP and AIADMK members rushed into the Well as soon as proceedings of the day started. TDP members opposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, while AIADMK members referred to the plight of Tamil fishermen. Holding placards, DMK members asked the Centre to move a resolution at UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) against Sri Lanka. As Chairman Hamid Ansari`s repeated pleas for order went unheeded, he adjourned the House till noon minutes after the day`s proceedings began. Later when both the Houses met at noon, similar scenes were witnessed with members raising the Telangana issues, besides inclusion of some backward castes in the SC/ST list leading to their adjournment. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12:45 PM, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 PM. In the Lok Sabha, ministers from Seemandhra were in the Well along with some other members demanding a united Andhra Pradesh. CPI(M) members also came out in support for a united Andhra Pradesh. Members from Congress, BSP and SP were demanding passage of the SC/ST sub-plan, prevention of atrocities against SC/ST bill and inclusion of certain backward castes in the SC/ST list. DMK members raised the issue of Tamils fishermen in Sri Lanka and demanded that India move a resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Speaker Meira Kumar said she has received a notice for a no confidence motion and wants to count the 50 members necessary to take forward the motion. Since the House was not in order she said she cannot take up the motion. In the Rajya Sabha, TDP and Congress members were in the well shouting slogans for a united Andhra Pradesh, while Gundu Sudha Rani (TDP) carried a poster that Telangana Bill be brought in Parliament. Naresh Agrawal (SP) rose to draw the attention of the House for inclusion of some backward castes in the SC/ST Bill. Both BSP and SP members trooped into the Well raising slogans in support of this demand. Amid slogan shouting and uproar, two bills - the Wakf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Bill, 2014 and the Delhi Hotels (Control of Accommodation) Repeal Bill, 2014, were introduced. As the din continued, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien adjourned the House till 2 PM.