Parliament proceedings witnessed an ugly turn on Thursday when a few legislators resorted to acts of aggression as the Telangana Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha for a discussion.
The Lok Sabha session ended abruptly after an expelled Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh used pepper spray to blind others, while another parliamentarian flung a computer, leading to absolute mayhem in the House. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar expressed her dismay at the sudden turn of events, and said that it is a blot on parliamentary democracy. "I am too anguished and too pained. Our parliamentary democracy is admired throughout the world, what happened today is a blot," she said.
The impact of the pepper spray was severe, and a doctor was rushed in to check on the MPs who were seen coughing.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said appropriate action would be taken against the concerned MPs, while adding that the Telangana Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, and is now the property of the parliament.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, strongly condemned the violent act by the lawmakers, and said that it has disgraced the entire parliamentary system, democracy and the Cabinet. "We have requested to take an action against it. Parliamentary system does not allow for such violence that we have seen today. In my 33 years of parliamentary life, I feel ashamed that such an incident has taken place. Members tried to gas the house. It is really unfortunate, the chaos and attempted violence is a blot on Indian democracy," he told media here today.
"It is a sensitive issue; you just cannot suppress the members from expressing their views. Using such methods is just anarchy. I will recommend the strongest possible action. It is for the Speaker to decide what steps are to be taken. I am informed that there was a knife, gas and other kinds of weapons," he added.
As soon as the bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Home Minister Shinde, two sets of MPs - for and against Telangana - rushed into the Well of the House. Two groups of protesters also clashed outside Parliament and a heavy contingent of police arrived to remove them as the volatile political atmosphere spilled onto the streets.
Earlier, Parliament was adjourned till noon following an uproar over the demand for a separate Telangana state and other issues.
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