Uproar over corruption, RS adjourned twice

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice on Tuesday as the opposition insisted on a discussion on corruption.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice on Tuesday as the opposition insisted on a discussion on corruption.

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The upper house saw two adjournments, first till 12 noon and then till 2 pm, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vociferously took up its demand.

The main opposition party had earlier submitted a notice for adjournment of the question hour for this discussion.

As soon as the upper house met, members of the BJP, which had submitted a notice to suspend the question hour and take up the discussion, were up on their feet insisting on their demand. Ruling party members tried to counter the opposition by shouting slogans demanding the question hour proceed.

Repeated pleas from Chairman Hamid Ansari for raising the issue after question hour went unheard and the house was adjourned till 12 noon.

When the upper house met after the disruption, opposition members were once again on their feet.

The government assured the members that the discussion woud be held at 2 pm, but the opposition refused to be pacified.

“We have kept a discussion for 2 pm,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla assured the opposition members.

But the members continued to raise their pitch.

“The main opposition party is trying to run away from discussion,” Shukla said.

As opposition members continued the uproar, deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan adjourned the house till 2 pm.

The BJP's insistence on a discussion came as Anna Hazare's fast for a stronger Lokpal bill entered day eight.