RS adjourned twice over want of copies of statement on UP blasts

New Delhi, Nov 26 (UNI) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice within half an hour today for want of copies of the Home Ministry's statement on the simultaneous bomb blasts that rocked Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

When the Minister of State for Home Suresh Pachauri rose to read out his statement, the opposition demanded that the statement be circulated in the House but the government seemed to have no answer, forcing the Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to adjourn the House for ten minutes.

Earlier, the opposition attempted to make Home Minister Shivraj Patil to give the statement on the simultaneous blasts in UP personally but the Chair pleaded that members should allow the junior minister to give the statement on behalf of government instead of insisting on Mr Patil to make it.

When the House met again after ten minutes, the copies were still not ready and the opposition started demanding the statement in Hindi also, an embarrassed Mr Pachauri made desperate attempts to secure the copies but it brought in no solace and the Deputy Chairman reluctantly adjourned the House to enable the Ministry to provide the statement in both languages.

The House also payed homage to the 14 people who lost their lives in the blasts that occurred in the court premises of Faizabad, Lucknow and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Respects were also paid to those who lost their lives in Assam blasts.

Earlier, the House was adjourned till 1200 hrs after the opposition demanded the resignation of Mr Patil in iew of the UP bomb blasts.

UNI