Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid uproar by treasury benches over Maharashtra issue

New Delhi, Mar 22: Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday amid uproar over corruption allegations in Maharashtra.

As soon as the Question Hour began, treasury bench members raised the Maharashtra issue with Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was in the Chair, asking them to allow the proceedings.

Amid the din, he asked members to ask supplementaries.

However, as soon as Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi answered supplementaries, the Chair Asked Chaya Verma (Cong) to proceed to the next question.

However, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar raised the Maharashtra issue referring to the alleged corruption in the state.

The chair then adjourned the House till 2 pm amid the uproar.

The protests were in connection with former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh''s claim that Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels in Mumbai.

Singh, who was transferred to the low-key Home Guards on March 17 following the arrest of police officer Sachin Waze in the case related to the bomb scare near Mukesh Ambani''s house Antilia, in a letter to the Maharashtra chief minister had claimed that he was made a scapegoat.

In the eight-page letter, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh used to call police officers to his official residence and give them a "collection target" from bars, restaurants and other establishments.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister''s Office, in a release on Saturday, said Singh''s "unsigned letter" was not sent from his official email ID and efforts were on to contact him to verify it.