RS adjourned briefly due to electric malfunctioning

Smoke emanating from a voting-cum-mike console on a seat in the treasury benches led to a brief adjournment of Rajya sabha in the morning.

As soon as the House paid respects to former union minister and ex-Rajya Sabha member S Jaipal Reddy, BJP MPs K Alphons and Shiv Pratap Shukla complained of smoke emitting from the console on the fourth-row seat.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said they should not panic and directed them to sit in other seats till the staff attended to it. Naidu then adjourned the House for 15 minutes to allow the staff to check.

Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma then went to the fourth row of the treasury benches and directed staff to immediately rectify the problem.

When the House reassembled, Naidu said he has asked for an inquiry into the incident, which is suspected to have caused by a short circuit.