In an
unprecedented and complete breakdown of parliamentary conduct, Lok Sabha MPs
came to blows, smashed glasses, yanked microphones and even unleashed a can of
pepper spray in the House to stop the introduction of the Telangana bill on
Thursday.
TDP MPs
shout slogans against the UPA govt and Sonia Gandhi during a protest calling
for a united Andhra Pradesh at Parliament on Wednesday. (AFP PHOTO)
Members
aren’t frisked when they enter Parliament and the Congress’ Lagadapati
Rajagopal took advantage of this to smuggle in the 200ml pepper spray can.
Another MP, a senior official told HT, was trying to sneak in a bottle of
petrol but was luckily caught by security guards.
Govt
was warned of trouble, but pepper spray sprang a surprise
The
frenzy that started soon after 12 noon and lasted two minutes sent three MPs to
hospital and several others running out teary-eyed and coughing into their
handkerchiefs. A distraught Meira Kumar, the Speaker, later suspended 16 MPs
from the House till next Thursday while lamenting the incident as a “blot in
the history of Parliament”.
Amid
the commotion, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, heavily guarded by Congress
MPs, managed to introduce the Andhra Pradesh Re-organization Bill. But the
opposition parties, led by the BJP, refused to accept the bill had been tabled,
alleging gross procedural violations. They also blamed the entire mess on the
Congress. “I feel it was part of the design. The government wanted a ruckus,”
said leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj.
Sources
said the bill may now be debated after the passage of the interim rail budget
and vote on account. “The 16 MPs have been suspended till Thursday. We may use
this window to pass the bill,” said a Congress minister.
Anticipating
trouble, the visitor’s gallery had been kept vacant for the proceedings — as
reported by HT on Thursday — and journalists were allowed into the press
gallery only after a thorough security check. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were advised to skip the bill’s introduction and
did so, sources said, while the BJP’s LK Advani also stayed away.
But the
preparations came to nought as the proceedings got underway. Despite efforts by
Congress MPs Raj Babbar and Arun Yadav to cordon off the well of the House, MPs
on both sides of the Telangana divide — including many from the Congress —
turned violent, breaking microphones, tearing up official papers, smashing the
glass on the secretariat table and trading blows. Marshals finally managed to
round up the unruly MPs, including pepper spray-armed Rajagopal, and the House
was adjourned.
“I did
it in self-defence. They pounced on whoever opposed the Telangana bill. I would
have done the same anywhere,” said a defiant Rajagopal.
After a
series of adjournments, the House reconvened at 3pm — with gas masks for all.
As the din continued, senior TDP MP Narayan Rao was rushed to the nearby Ram
Manohar Lohia hospital after he complained of breathing difficulty.
Some
MPs in a relatively safe corner of the House recorded the commotion on their
mobile phones, which are otherwise not allowed inside. Some of this footage
later found its way to the TV channels.
