By IANS
New Delhi : The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the third time Monday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a statement on the India-US civilian nuclear deal with opposition members shouting slogans throughout his 28-minute address.
Opposition MPs advanced to the speaker’s podium as soon as the house re-assembled after the lunch recess and shouted slogans demanding the cancellation of the nuclear deal.
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee initially ignored the ruckus and called on the prime minister to begin his address. MPs from the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, refused to go back to their seats, prompting the speaker to remark that they should be “ashamed” of themselves.
The slogan shouting continued even after the prime minister completed his address and left the house. In the midst of the din, Chatterjee called for papers to be laid on the table of the house.
Once this was over, the speaker called a discussion on the flood situation in Bihar. With the din refusing to die down, Chatterjee adjourned the house till 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Earlier, when the house met at 11 a.m., members of the opposition United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) created a ruckus over the nuclear deal, calling for its repeal.
MPs of the Samajwadi Party advanced towards the speaker’s podium shouting slogans like “Nuclear deal should be dropped!” and “Bush ki gulami nahin chalegi!” (Subservience to Bush will not be allowed).
Members from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), a part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), were also restive, wanting to speak on the deteriorating flood situation in Bihar.
BJP MPs sought to speak on the developments in Goa, where the Congress-led government won a controversial vote of confidence last month.
With his repeated pleas to restore order falling on deaf ears, Chatterjee adjourned the house at 11.05 a.m. till 11.30 a.m.
The uproar, however, continued when the house reassembled, prompting the speaker to adjourn it until after the lunch recess.