The alleged house arrest of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav by the State government in Uttar Pradesh led to disruption of the Lok Sabha proceedings with SP members demanding the dismissal of the Mayawati government. The House was adjourned three times in the pre-lunch session.
As the House assembled for the day and Speaker Meira Kumar took up the Question Hour, SP members rushed to the Well claiming that their party chief has been kept under house arrest by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government to prevent them from leading a three-day agitation against the State government.
The SP members chanted slogans demanding the dismissal of the Mayawati government accusing it of authoritarian tendencies.
Ms. Kumar allowed SP member Reoti Raman Singh to raise the matter who said Mr. Yadav and a number of other MPs, besides scores of party workers were kept under detention by the U.P. government.
Intervening in the matter, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said he had requested the Home Minister to ascertain the facts and inform the Lok Sabha accordingly. "We will share the information with the House during the day," Mr. Mukherjee said.
However, SP members were not pacified by the assurances and stormed the Well once again.
On the other hand, BSP leader Dara Singh Chauhan and his other party colleagues vociferously countered the charges levelled by the SP members. As members were unrelenting, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till11:30 a.m. The scene was no better when the House reassembled resulting in the second adjournment till noon.
After papers were laid at noon and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the statement on the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner, the Speaker started the Zero Hour, but the House witnessed stormy scenes with SP members again trooping into the Well and raising slogans.
As the Speaker's repeated appeals to the SP members to return to their seats failed, she took up the discussion on the Demands for Grants of the Railways amidst the noisy scenes and allowed two members to speak on the matter. But with acrimony continuing, she adjourned the House till 2 p.m
