Both houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon within minutes of assembling on Tuesday following uproarious scenes over the issues of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra.
When the Lok Sabha met for the day, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, a key partner in the United Progressive Alliance government, raised the issue of plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka while members of other opposition parties, including the National Democratic Alliance and the Left, were also on their feet raising separate issues.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said he has got five notices for suspension of Question Hour and requested all the members to speak one at a time but his plea went unheeded.
"You have put me in this chair (of Speaker), I don't want to be here," he said.
As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till 1200 hours.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed similar scenes where DMK members brought banners which read 'Save the Tamils' and 'Stop Genocide in Sri Lanka' while the Left MPs claimed the nation's autonomy had been "mortgaged" in the nuclear deal with the US.
Sharad Yadav of the JD-U wanted to the raise the issue of attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra. Some members of the BJP also supported him.
Chairman Hamid Ansari repeatedly requested for order in the House. He asked members to raise the issue during Zero Hour and suggested that they could have a structured debate.
But disruptions continued. Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India-Marxist said there were provisions for raising the issue during Question Hour. "We are exercising our option under the rules," Yechury said.
Eight minutes into the commotion, Ansari adjourned the House till noon.
