T-bill moved in RS amid unprecedented bedlam

Amid unprecedented bedlam, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde moved the Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha for consideration leading to three adjournments within 30 minutes.

The Well of the Upper House virtually turned into a battle field as Shinde moved the bill with anti-Telangana protestors displaying huge placards opposing the bill and creating uproar.

Even though Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, who had raised the issue of constitutional invalidity of the bill was asked by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to put forth his point of view, the surcharged atmosphere forced the Chair to go for a short break.

Jaitley was not allowed to have his say despite being called by the Chair whose repeated pleas to maintain order in the House went unheeded.

The House had witnessed high drama yesterday with Secretary General Shumsher K Sheriff being heckled by a TDP member who tried to snatch from him papers related to Telangana bill.

When the Chair took up the Whistleblowers Bill for consideration, Prakash Javadekar (BJP) went near the podium to demand that the Telengana Bill be brought first, even as V Maitrayan (AIADMK) got into a scuffle with the marshalls demanding a discussion on the Tamil fishermen issue.

The Telangana bill was moved for consideration even as a deadlock persisted over it with the government accusing BJP of bringing amendments at the eleventh hour.

"We have listed the Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha and we would be attempting to get it passed. The question of amendments at this stage does not arise," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had told reporters earlier.