Ruckus in Parliament over Women’s Bill; RS Adjourned, 7 MPs Suspended

The Rajya Sabha witnessed noisy scenes over Women’s Reservation Bill second consecutive day today, leading Vice President Hamid Ansari to adjourn the House for an hour, said media reports.

As the House met for the day, chairman Hamid Ansari read out a condolence message on the Chilean earthquake and then announced question hour, reported IANS.

Immediately, Kamal Akhtar of the SP and other MPs from his party as well as from the RJD were on their feet protesting against the bill, said report.

After failing to restore order, an exasperated Ansari was quoted as saying: “It seems the members don’t want question hour to function. The chair has no option but to adjourn the House till 12 noon.”

In Lok Sabha, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav headed protest against the legislation and forced the Speaker to adjourn the House for 15 minutes, reported the Times of India.

In the morning, Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav, all opposing the Women’s bill, called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and informed him of their differences to the legislation, report said.

(Based on internet reports)