House disrupted as BJP calls for PM's resignation

Parliament was disrupted Wednesday as the BJP persisted with its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, and also demanded that ministers PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar step down.

Parliament was disrupted Wednesday as the BJP persisted with its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, and also demanded that ministers PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar step down.

Lok Sabha was adjourned minutes after the day's proceedings began at 11am as Bharatiya Janata Party members advanced to the speaker's podium, demanding the Prime Minister's resignation.

It also demanded the resignation of law minister Ashwani Kumar and railway minister Bansal.

Speaker Meira Kumar's efforts to calm BJP members proved futile, and she adjourned the house till 12 noon.

The scene in Rajya Sabha was similar, with BJP members shouting slogans against the prime minister.

Amid the pandemonium, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the house till noon.

Both houses have seen repeated disruptions by opposition parties over the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.

The BJP has said it will not let parliament function till Manmohan Singh resigns over the alleged involvement of his office in the irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum, and Bansal and Ashwani Kumar quit too.

While Bansal's nephew was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly taking a bribe for the appointment of a member of the Railway Board, Ashwani Kumar has come under attack in the Supreme Court for vetting the CBI report on coal allocation.