RS adjourned till 1600hrs following pandemonium

New Delhi, Aug 13 (UNI) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 1600 hrs today following pandemonium as the BJP demanded discussion on the Goa issue, the Congress wanted immediate attention to the grave flood situation in northern states, while the Left Parties and Telugu Desam Party called for a debate on Khammam firing.

Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan repeatedly tried to pacify the members, urging that legislative business be taken up as both the question hour and zero hours have passed, and this was time for bills to be considered.

Pointing out that notices for none of these debates have been received, he said that the Business Advisory Council will meet today where these matters could be discussed, and once cleared, the house could take up discussion on all these issues.

However, the members of all the three groups remained firm on their demand. All of them demanded that the matter raised by their party be discussed first by the upper hosue.

BJP member Sushma Swaraj said her party wanted that the Goa issue be immediately taken up as it was a constitutional matter.

The Left parties and TDP members were also on their feet demanding a discussion on the police firing on slum dwellers in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh which claimed several lives.

Chief Whip of the Congres V Narayansami led his party members in asserting that since the flood situation in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and many North Eastern states was grave, the house should discuss the issue first.

Since the members refused to pay heed to the request of the Deputy Chairman to take up the legislative business, and remained adamant on their respective demands, din prevailed in the house, forcing Mr Khan to adjourn the house till 1600 hrs.

UNI