JOIN USBoth houses of parliament were adjourned for the day Tuesday as the opposition protested over various issues, including alleged land deals by Robert Vadra in Rajasthan and "war crimes" by the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka.
The lower house was first adjourned till 12 p.m., then till 2 p.m. and after that for the day.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in the Rajya Sabha raised the alleged land deals by Robert Vadra -- the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi -- in Rajasthan. DMK members raised the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka and Italy's refusal to return the two marines accused of killing fishermen in Kerala.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the house till 2 p.m. after his efforts to restore order and proceed with scheduled business failed.
There were similar scenes in the Lok Sabha as members created a ruckus on the same issues.
After Speaker Meira Kumar read out an obituary reference to former member Viren Shah, DMK members raised the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils.
BJP members displayed placards and shouted slogans against Vadra's land deals.
The speaker adjourned the house till noon.
Finally when the house reassembled at 2 p.m., the speaker called upon Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal to begin his reply to the discussion on the railway budget.
But opposition members disrupted the house again raising the issue of Vadra's land deals following which Meira Kumar adjourned the house for the day.
Similarly, when the upper house reassembled at 2 p.m., BJP members again sought to raise the issue of alleged land deals of Vadra in Rajasthan and DMK and AIADMK members raised the issue of alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka.
As the BJP members continued to vociferously press their demand, deputy chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the house for the day.