NEW DELHI: The last day of the five-week-long monsoon session of Parliament saw a furore over the reported remarks of National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on the release of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azar by the previous National Democratic Alliance Government.

Frequent interruptions and adjournments were made over the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister's reported comments, in an interview to a periodical, about Azar's release in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC 814 in 1999.

Acrimonious scenes were witnessed in both Houses.

The ruling Congress members did not allow the matter to rest in the Rajya Sabha, leading to four adjournments.

Hour-long adjournment

The Lower House was also adjourned for an hour even as members of the ruling coalition waved copies of the periodical and the Opposition Bhartiya Janata Party members trooped into the well of the House in protest.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked members not to wave copies, and amid pandemonium adjourned the House.

Raising the issue, Madhusudan Mistry (Congress) said that while Opposition members were criticising the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for being soft on terrorists, the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the former Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, according to the report, had ordered the release of hardcore terrorists lodged in the Jammu jail.

In the Rajya Sabha, Congress members sought to raise the issue as soon as the House assembled but were disallowed by Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

Congress and SP members were on their feet waving photocopies of the reports and demanding that they be allowed to raise the matter.

Nothing could be heard in the din, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House within five minutes of tabling papers.

After two more adjournments, the treasury benches at 2.30 p.m. demanded a clarification from Mr. Abdullah, who was present in the House.

The Chairman disallowed this. WhenMr. Abdullah stood up to speak an uproar followed, and the Chair adjourned the House till 5 p.m.

When the House reassembled, there was no let-up in the pandemonium and Mr. Shekhawat adjourned the House finally.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail