RS adjourned as Cong harps on Guj discussion

New Delhi, May 8: Rajya Sabha was today adjourned for the day after two adjournments following insistent demands by the Congress MPs to the Chair for permission to raise the Gujarat 'fake encounters' issue in the House.

As soon as Leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh was allowed to raise the issue of Government allowing the meeting of Hurriyat leader Ali Shah Geelani at Srinagar Airport on March 22, the Congress MPs vociferously sought permission from Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to raise the issue. However, he noted that he would permit the issue to be raised on the basis of the notices that were first submitted to him and the members should come to his Chambers to see the notices themselves.

However, Congress' Satyavrat Chaturvedi expressed disappointment about his party not allowed to take up Gujarat issue while the Chair clarified that it had allowed the Leader of Opposition to raise the issue as the matter was not linked to other issues sought to be raised -- be it Gujarat or Nandigram. ''You come to my chamber and see the notices for yourselves'', he told the agitated Treasury benches.

When the situation was not conducive, the Chair adjourned the House for the day.

Earlier in the day after the Zero Hour and at 1300 hours, both ruling and opposition members were on their feet demanding the Chair accord precedence for the issues they sought to raise in the House. The BJP wanted the Chair to permit discussion on the Kashmir issue where banners and flags of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba flags were flown at a meeting addressed by Mr Geelani, whereas the Congress wanted to raise Gujarat encounters issue and the Trinamool Congress that off the Nandigram killings. The House was adjourned to 1300 hrs and again at 1400 hours.

UNI

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