Lok Sabha adjourned over Antulay

The Lok Sabha was adjourned over the remarks by Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay questioning the death of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare during the Mumbai terror strikes.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned on Monday morning over the remarks by Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay questioning the death of Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare during the Mumbai terror strikes.

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Speaker Somnath Chaterjee adjourned the house till 1 pm after members of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) shouted slogans and marched towards the speaker's podium, demanding Antulay's removal.

Antulay was sitting in the second row of the treasury benches. Later, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar asked Antulay to sit with him in the first row. Antulay joined him, but by this time, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had created a ruckus in the house over the issue.

Even as they shouted slogans against Antulay, the speaker asked Pawan Kumar Bansal, minister of state for finance, to introduce a bill for amendment on Life Insurance Corporation Act 1956.

Amid the pandemonium, Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) leader Basudev Acharya sought a division to introduce the bill in the house. The speaker then adjourned the house.

Antulay had hinted that Karkare's death could be linked to the Sep 29 Malegaon bombing he was investigating and in which members of Hindu radical groups are the main suspects.