RS adjourned over CBI vs Mamata

Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm soon after it assembled on Monday as Opposition parties objected to the way the ruling BJP was "misusing" the CBI.

As soon as official papers were laid on the table, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien demanded that his notice to suspend business and discuss the way the CBI was acting in West Bengal where its officers had tried to question Kolkata Police Commissioner in the Saradha Chit fund scam.

However, Naidu said he will not allow the notice and said that Opposition MPs could raise it when they discuss the Motion of Thanks to President's speech. This prompted Trinamool MPs to rush to the well of the House.

The Centre and West Bengal government are locked in a tussle since Sunday evening after CBI officers reached the Commissioner's office to question him. The Kolkata Police detained these officers and released them later while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on a "satyagraha" against the excesses of the CBI.

Outside the House, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the ruling BJP was trying to "demolish" Opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. "We will fight this inside and outside Parliament," the senior Congress MP told reporters.

On Sunday night, Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, N Chandrababu Naidu, Arvind Kejriwal, Omar Abdullah, MK Stalin and others announced their support to Banerjee.