Unruly scenes in Lok Sabha: RJD, JD(U) MPs come to blows

Abuses and threats resound in Lok Sabha a day after our leaders gave themselves a big wage hike.

NEW DELHI: A day after parliamentarians rewarded themselves with a substantial salary hike, scuffles broke out and abuse was hurled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, leading to two adjournments.

The near free-for-all began after JD(U) MP Prabhunath Singh alleged that some of Lalu Yadav's men were behind recent law and order incidents in Bihar. This provoked an angry retort from Railway Minister Lalu Yadav, which soon led to a slanging match. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee tried in vain to calm things down, before adjourning the House.

Squabbles, however, continued even after the House was adjourned. Charges and counter-charges gave way to abuse even as senior ministers such as Arjun Singh and veterans such as George Fernandes, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, and Gurudas Dasgupta looked on. RJD MPs Ram Kirpal Yadav and R.K Rana rushed to the well of the House, brushing aside Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, who was trying to restrain them.

Prabhunath Singh refused to back down and matched the RJD MPs' decibel level. Later, he even dramatically handed over his resignation from the House to the Speaker.

Amid the chaos, Sadhu Yadav, the railway minister's brother-in-law, moved menacingly towards the JD(U) MP. It was the timely intervention of the BJP's wrestler-turned-MP Brij Bhushan Singh that prevented Prabhunath Singh and Sadhu Yadav from coming to blows.

The incidents stunned most parliamentarians. Newcomers such as Jitin Prasada said: "It was totally unexpected, and extremely embarrassing for all of us." Eight-time MP Hanann Mollah said that while there were unruly scenes in the past, he had never seen anything like this before. "Today we sank to the depths," he said.

CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta said it was a sad day for all members of the House. "Parliament is a forum for debate and not for badmouthing each other," he said. Maneka Gandhi described the incident as "shameful and disgusting". She said strict action should be taken against the offenders.

"What makes it worse is that the incident happened a day after we gave ourselves a big salary hike," Rajesh Mishra, a first-time Congress MP said.