By IANS,
New Delhi : The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for a second time Monday after Samajwadi Party MPs disrupted the proceedings demanding job quotas for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims.
When the house reassembled at noon after an earlier adjournment, SP members started shouting slogans as some papers were laid on the table. In the event no one could hear what Deputy Chairman K. Rehman was saying.
Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath read out a statement on the international Women’s Day. The house is scheduled to pass a bill reserving a third of seats in all legislatures for women.
But the SP MPs first demanded a discussion on the reports of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by Justice (retd) Ranganath Misra that favours job quotas for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians.
The chair ruled this out saying no notice had been served for the debate. As a handful of SP members advanced menacingly towards the presiding officer, the house was adjourned till 2 p.m.
Earlier, when the house assembled at 11, Chairman Hamid Ansari read out a message on the international Women’s Day saying that among others “women have to be included in the decision making process”.