New Delhi, Aug 6 - Both houses of parliament were repeatedly disrupted Thursday following protests from the Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Haryana's decision to form a separate Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to manage Sikh shrines in the state, even as a demand for a statement on the issue by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was turned down.
'Why are you bringing the leader of the house into this?' Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan asked S.S. Ahluwalia when he demanded a statement from Manmohan Singh
MPs from the Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were on their feet in both houses against what they saw as the government's move to have separate SGPCs in each state. Currently, the SGPC in Amritsar is the supreme body controlling Sikh shrines and religious affairs.
Unable to pacify the MPs, presiding officers of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were forced to adjourn proceedings twice.
In the Lok Sabha, two Akali Dal members Harsimrat Kaur and Ratanjit Ajnala went towards the speaker's podium to demand the suspension of question hour to discuss the issue.
There was also a heated exchange of words on the issue between leader of the house and Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Sharad Yadav.
Speaker Meira Kumar had initially adjourned the house till 11.30 a.m. However, the protests continued when the house resumed and she adjourned the house till 12 noon.
Both the houses reassembled at noon.