With the shadow of his action of referring the cases of 32 lawmakers to the Privileges Committee for their unruly behaviour looming large, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Monday abruptly adjourned the Lok Sabha till 1400 hours.
The 32 MPs who disrupted Parliament
"The House stands adjourned till 2:00 pm," announced Chatterjee soon after the Lok Sabha made obituary reference to Rajya Sabha member Nirmala Deshpande who died on Friday.
Chatterjee's sudden announcement caught the members unawares even as those in the Opposition benches, especially Bharatiya Janata Party, were seen sitting with finger on their lips.
The posture was prompted by the NDA's decision earlier in the day asking its members to remain silent in Lok Sabha to protest against the Speaker's decision to refer 32 MPs, mostly from the BJP, to the Privileges Committee for their 'disorderly conduct'.
Chatterjee's announcement came as Samajwadi Party leader Ramji Lal Suman sought to raise the controversial anti-North Indian statements of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray.
In the melee, Telugu Desam Party leader K Yerrannaidu was heard raising the issue of fire in the Guntur chilli market, which destroyed produce worth crores of rupees.
