Parliament adjourned after tributes to 26/11 victims

NEW DELHI - Like the last 11 days, both houses of parliament were adjourned with noisy protests by the opposition members demanding a parliamentary probe into the 2G spectrum allotment scam. The uproar began immediately after a remembrance for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

As opposition protests erupted in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house first till 12 noon and when the house reassembled Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned it for the day as the uproar continued.

In the Rajya Sabha too, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the house till noon following similar protests. The protests continued when it reassembled, and Deptuy Chairman Rehman Khan adjounred the house till 2.30 p.m.

Hardly any legislative business has been conducted in parliament since its winter session began Nov 9.

Friday was no different from the previous uproarious days in both houses as they were adjourned within minutes after the members assembled at 11 a.m.

The proceedings in the Lok Sabha began with the swearing-in of Putul Kumari, the newly-elected MP from Banka in Bihar. She succeeds her husband and former Union minister Digvijay Singh, who died recently.

Speaker Miera Kumar then read out a message paying tribute to the 166 people - civilians and security personnel - killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks two years ago.

“Today is the second anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks…We reiterate our resolve to fight terror,” she said in her message.

The house observed a minute’s silence as homage to the 26/11 victims.

As soon as the remembrance ended, opposition MPs cutting across political affiliations moved towards the speaker’s podium, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum scam.

Some members stood at their positions holding placards that read “We want JPC”.

The proceedings in the Rajya Sabha too began with tributes to those killed in the 26/11 Mumbai mayhem unleashed by 10 Pakistani terrorists.

But soon opposition members rose to protest against the 2G spectrum scandal and Ansari adjourned the house till 12 noon.

They are demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe alleged irregularities in the 2008 allocation of second-generation mobile telephony spectrum that is said to have caused huge losses to the national exchequer.

Outside parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.K. Bansal denied speculation that the two houses may be adjourned sine die in the coming days.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, had held two luncheon meetings with the leaders of political parties, but failed in his efforts to break the deadlock.