LS adjourned for the day

New Delhi, Mar 8: The Lok Sabha was today (Mar 8, 2006) adjourned for the day following an uproar over the serial terrorist strike on the holy city of Varanasi by opposition members who accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of incompetence.

As soon as the House reassembled at 1200 hrs, some Congress members raised pro-Sonia Gandhi slogans, prompting Opposition members to shout counter-slogans charging the central government with inability to act with firmness in dealing with the terrorist attacks on a Hindu place of worship and at the railway station in the ancient city.

Soon the opposition members trooped into the well shouting slogans, even as Home Minister Shivraj Patil stood up to make a statement on the blasts.

Mr Patil read out his statement amid noisy scenes, but nothing could be heard in the din.

After about seven minutes the Speaker was left with no option but to adjourn the House for the day.

In his statement, Mr Patil referred to the fact that one blast took place at Sankat Mochan temple and the other at the Cantonment railway station. ''As per the initial information received from the state government, these two blasts occurred simultaneously around 6.20 in the evening, and in these two blasts, 14 persons including one woman and a child have been killed and 103 persons injured. All the injured persons have been shifted to the hospital for treatment,'' Mr Patil said.

The Home Minister said an ex-gratia amount of Rs five lakhs has been announced for the next of kin of those killed and an amount of Rs one lakh for those injured seriously and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.

He said the state government has entrusted the investigation of these blasts to the Special Task Force, but stated that no arrests have been made so far in this regard.

''The state government is taking all possible steps to nab the perpetrators of the blasts and the central government will render all possible help and assistance.

''I would like to assure the august House that the government remains firmly committed to combating terrorism. All of us have to ensure that such acts of terror by some desperate anti-national elements do not disturb peace, public order, and communal harmony in the country and would not be allowed to undermine our determination to combat, control and contain the violence,'' Mr Patil said.

Mr Patil, who had visited the sites of both the blasts with senior officers of his Ministry, said the temple was targeted ''understandably'' to cause communal tension in the country. ''The central government reviewed the situation immediately after the blasts and the state government was sensitised to step up vigil and take all precautionary measures to ensure communal peace and harmony. The people were asked to remain calm and maintain peace. Additional forces (five companies of RAF and ten companies of PAC) were deployed in Varanasi for maintenance of peace and public order. The central government is in constant touch with the state government and is closely monitoring the situation,'' Mr Patil said.

This was the second time that the House was adjourned on the issue.

As soon as the House assembled for the day's proceedings, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked the members to stand in silence to mourn the loss of lives in the ''heinous acts of violence''.

Soon after the condolences were offered, the opposition benches were up on their feet shouting slogans like ''Har Har Mahadev''and ''Bajrang Bali Ki Jai.'' At five minutes past 1100 hrs, Mr Chatterjee adjourned the House till noon.

Those present in the House included Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Transport and Shipping Minister T R Baalu, BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra and some other prominent opposition leaders.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not present in the House.

UNI

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