Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 p.m.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS)- The Rajya Sabha was on Monday adjourned till 2 p.m. amid ruckus, minutes after it met for the the day. As soon as Zero Hour was called, AIADMK members trooped to the Chair’s podium, holding placards and shouting slogans.They have been protesting against a proposed dam on the Cauvery river in Karnataka.

Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Opposition wants the House to function and it has nothing to do with the AIADMK protest.”I want to clarify from my party’s side as well as the entire Opposition that we have nothing to do with this ruckus. This (noise) should not be credited in the Opposition’s account. It is between the AIADMK and the government,” Azad said.

The Congress and other Opposition members kept sitting silently in their seats.Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh asked the members who had given Zero Hour notices to continue speaking on their issues.

TMC member Nadimul Haque said he could not speak until the House was in order and asked the Chair to restore order in the House.As the protesting AIADMK members did not relent, the Chair adjourned the House till 2 p.m.

Earlier, the House paid homage to iconic filmmaker Mrinal Sen, a former member of Rajya Sabha, who died on Sunday at the age of 95, in Kolkata after a prolonged illness. The House observed two minutes silence in his memory.

–IANSmak/pgh/vm