Lok Sabha adjourned for the day

New Delhi, Aug 4: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the third time today and finally for the day, till Monday, after a showdown involving slogan shouting by Opposition and Ruling party members on the leak of the Justice Pathak Committee report on the oil-for-food scam to the media.

As soon as the House re-assembled for the third time at 1530 Hours, BJP parliamentary party's deputy leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra stood up to make a point of order on the leak of the Report to the media, even before being placed in Parliament, when it was in session.

But Mr Devendra Prasad Yadav, who was in the Chair, called out the names of members regarding legislative business relating to Private Members.

This was followed by BJP members and some others from the NDA parties trooping to the well of the House shouting slogans aginst the Congress.

This provoked Congress members, who left their seats but stopped short of coming to the well of the house, shouting counter slogans against the BJP.

The slogan shouting reached a high pitch when the Chair got up and enjoined the members not to disrupt the proceedings relating to the Private Members' Bills.

Mr Yadav was at pains telling the members that it was unprecedented in the history of India's parliamentary democracy that the House was not allowed to carry on business entailing Private Members' Bills.

''Is this democracy? The entire country is watching what is going on. Never in the history of Parliament has such a thing happened,'' he said.

He was joined by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi who observed that legislative business regarding Private Members' Bills was being prevented from being transacted.

The Chair ordered that the slogans would not be recorded in the records of the proceedings of the House.

However, his exhortations to the members to let procedings continue uninterrupted fell on deaf ears and he was left with no option but to adjourn the House for the day.

Similar scenes were witnessed in the House when it re-assembled at 1500 Hours, after the first adjournment ealier in the day. Mr Davendra Prasad Yadav was in the Chair, who made a vain attempt to carry on business relating to laying down of papers by some Ministers and members.

As an admant Opposition and an equally determined ruling party members continued slogan shouting, the Chair called for a second adjournment.

As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, the Opposition stalled its proceedings, accusing the government of engineering the leak in "contempt of parliament." An irrate Opposition moved to the well soon after the House commenced its procedings.

Opposition members charged that the Committee has given a clean chit to the ruling Congress while indicting former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and his son Jagat Singh.

It is intriguing that the Report was submitted to the Prime Minister and leaked to the Press at the same time. It is contempt of Parliament,'' Leader of Opposition L K Advani said.

Mr Advani was first to raise the issue and received support from pary leaders, barring the Congress.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee condemned the leak and asked the government to explain how it occurred.

The Speaker adjourned the House till 1500 Hours.

UNI