Furore over N-deal; LS adjourns twice

NEW DELHI: The protest by agitated Samajwadi Party members over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal stalled proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Monday even as the Government announced that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the issue in the afternoon.
    
The House witnessed two adjournments soon after it met for the day as SP members were in no mood to listen and chanted slogans denouncing the Government and the Congress over the nuclear deal which they alleged favoured the US.
   
It was trouble from the word go with the SP members storming the well on the issue. BJP members later joined them but on the issue concerning political developments in Goa.

RJD members sought to raise the issue of flood situation in Bihar.

Amidst the din, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee informed members that the Prime Minister would make a statement on the Indo-US nuclear deal at 2 PM and said the Government had no problem to discuss the issue straightaway.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said after Prime Minister's statement, the House would take up a special discussion on the flood situation in Bihar.
   
Chatterjee was critical of agitated members and asked them not to take the House to ransom.

"People have not sent you here to shout slogans. The country is watching you. If you do not conduct business in a proper manner, then there is no justification for Parliament to exist," he said.

As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2 PM.