RS adjourned till noon over demolitions in Delhi

New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) Opposition leaders agitated over large-scale demolitions of unauthorised structures in the national capital today forced adjournment of the Rajya Sabha till noon.

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said lakhs of people have had their houses broken and shops sealed. ''The government has been unresponsive to their sufferings.'' Ms Swaraj said thousands of people are squatting on the city roads. The government has failed to introduce a new law to provide short-term relief from the court-ordered sealing and demolition drive in Delhi, she said.

Minister for parliamentary affairs Suresh Pachauri said the bill is ready and will be placed in the House soon for discussion.

Unconvinced, nearly a dozen BJP leaders shouted slogans against the government and came into the well of the House. Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat urged them to retreat but they did not relent.

BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said it is an emotive issue touching thousands of people and should be debated immediately.

So far, the government has maintained that a bill seeking relief from the municipal drive is likely to be introduced in parliament.

But the proposed legislation offers no permanent solution to the decades-old problems of housing and work space in Delhi.

The bill will apparently seek to provide short-term relief to shopkeepers and their employees, slum dwellers, violators of certain building plans and hawkers and vendors.

UNI SU RL ND1140