Parliament goes powerless for awhile

Parliament was virtually powerless for a brief while on Monday.

Parliament was virtually powerless for a brief while on Monday.

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Parliament building faced power cuts thrice as the Lok Sabha discussed the finance bill and the Rajya Sabha debated the working of the ministry of defence.

Emergency lights were put on thrice in both the Houses between 4:20pm and 4:50pm.

However, members in both the Houses took little note of the inconvenience and continued with the debate.

In the Lok Sabha, some members were seen clicking pictures of the dim hall using their mobile phones.

Francisco Sardinha (Cong), who was in the chair, noted that power cuts were too frequent today.

As there was a little commotion in the House, Sardinha remarked, "Only keep your ears open, you can close your eyes."

In the Rajya Sabha, Tariq Anwar (NCP) was in the chair. He was heard inquiring when the power would be restored.

A Parliament Secretariat official said the power failure was due to a fault in the local sub-station.