Lok Sabha adjourned over enemy property bill

The amendments reverse over four-decade-old government policy to preserve the properties of those who had migrated during partition.

The bill came up for discussion in the Lok Sabha but Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav criticised the government for "conspiring against Muslims with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)".

He said his party will oppose the bill because "it is part of the Congress' anti-Muslim policy".This created an uproar in the house with BJP members objecting to Mulayam Singh's remarks.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the Samajwadi Party chief had not read the amendments as certain contentious clauses have been changed.
This agitated Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, and she threatened to block the bill if the government brought in amendments.

"If Mulayamji will oppose the bill in present form, we will oppose the bill if changes were made to it," she said.Swaraj said the bill should be referred to a joint parliamentary panel before being considered by the Lok Sabha.

AIADMK's Munisamy Thambidurai, who was presiding the session, adjourned the house till 2 p.m. amid the din.

This was the second disruption of the day after opposition members forced an adjournment of the house over the alleged misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the government earlier in the morning.

BJP members demanded discussion on the issue amid noisy protests. When Speaker Meira Kumar rejected the demand, the protesting MPs trooped towards her podium, raising slogans.

The speaker adjourned the house till noon. The monsoon session of parliament ends Tuesday. It was extended by two days because many business hours were lost due to frequent disruptions in the first week of the session that started July 26.