Ruckus over Phone Tapping Issue; LS, RS Adjourned till Noon

Both houses of parliament have been adjourned till noon as the issue of tapping phones of politicians created pandemonium in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha soon after they assembled for the day, said media reports.

When Opposition members took to their feet in protest against alleged phone tapping insisting on immediate clarification, Question Hour was installed in both Houses, reports said.

Senior BJP leader LK Advani said that nothing less thanstatement from the Prime Minister on the issue would be acceptable, said reports.

He also recalled a press conference conducted on June 25, 1985 to mark 10 years of Emergency in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke about phone tapping of leaders like Chandrashekhar, Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh and journalists like Kuldeep Nayyar and Arun Shourie.
Advani demanded a law for preventing the government from tapping phones, reports said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal assured the House that Home Minister P Chidambaram would make a statement on the issue at 12 noon, said reports.

The Speaker Meira Kumar said that other members of the house would be permitted to speak following the statement but when it didn’t calm them down, she adjourned the house till noon, reports said.

In the Rajya Sabha, soon after oath-taking of nominated member B Jayashree, whole of the opposition led by BJP and Left parties raised the issue, reports said.

S S Ahluwalia (BJP) said a notice for suspension of Question Hour has been given even as his colleagues shouted slogans condemning the alleged act, said reports.

“Members have raised some issues… notices have been received. The Government will make a statement after the Question Hour,” Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan was quoted as saying.

This, however, did not satisfy the opposition members who continued to raise the issue.

Chairman Hamid Ansari said that the Government would make a statement and requested them to allow Question Hour to proceed, reports said.

“All discussions will be at the appropriate time. This is Question Hour… Please allow Question Hour to proceed,” he pleaded but the Opposition benches were unrelenting.

Minutes into the din, Ansari adjourned the House till 12 noon.

(Based on internet reports)