Elders tear up papers, break RS chairman's microphone

 Unruly behaviour by the elders marked the proceedings in the Upper House on Monday as members tore up official documents, staged protests with placards and accidentally broke a microphone on the chairman’s table, forcing the presiding officer to adjourn the House four times in the first half.

The first adjournment for 10 minutes, in fact, came just one minute after the House proceedings began as two members from Andhra Pradesh marched to the well protesting against splitting the state to create Telangana.

They were joined by members from Tamil Nadu who took objection to being named in a House bulletin for disruptive behaviour last Friday, when they trooped to the well to highlight problems faced by Tamil fishermen.

AIADMK leader V Maitreyan and DMK member T M Selvaganapathi tore up copies of the bulletin that named several MPs for “gross disorderly conduct in violation of rules and etiquette of Rajya Sabha” and persistently and wilfully obstructing House proceedings.
Others named in the bulletin were TDP members Y S Chowdary and C M Ramesh from Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu Leaders N Balaganga, A W Rabi Bernard, R Lakshmanan and T Rathinavel (AIADMK) and K R Arjunan, Vasanthi Stanley and A A Jinnah of the DMK.
The Tamil MPs said they would not allow the House to run till the bulletin was modified and their names struck off. The agitating MPs said Congress members who came to the well over the Telangana issue were spared.

The Lok Sabha too continued to remain paralysed on Monday as noisy protests by several MPs led to adjournment of the House without much business being transacted.
Each time, the House reassembled, Maitreyan and Selvaganapathi went to the well tearing the papers, which littered the floor. The two Andhra MPs raised placards and shouted slogans in support of a united Andhra Pradesh. In the melee, a microphone in front of the chairman's desk was broken accidentally. The watch and ward staff replaced it.
Unable to conduct business, deputy chairperson P J Kurien reprimanded Maitreyan and other agitating members. “You are indulging in indiscipline. You don’t want proceedings to be reported correctly. You want censoring. It is against the rule. It is unbecoming (of a member). I am sorry,” he said.

The disorderly scene continued in the post-lunch session, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House for the day.

As soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, Congress and Telugu Desam Party MPs from Andhra Pradesh came to the well, shouting slogans against the move to create Telangana.

Samajwadi Party members too came to the well to oppose the government’s move to introduce the Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2014.