New Delhi (PTI): The violence against north Indians by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists rocked the Lok Sabha on Monday, forcing repeated adjournments of the House proceedings.

The proceedings had to be adjourned twice before it was finally adjourned for the day, an hour ahead of schedule.

The final adjournment came when Karbala Swain (BJP) made a controversial statement about railway recruitments in his constituency in Orissa.

"People from a particular caste and religion and belonging to Bihar have been getting 70 per cent employment in Orissa in Group D service of Railways," he alleged.

Swain said Oriyas can crack the IAS exam but not railways, hinting at corruption in railway recruitment. This led to uproarious scenes with RJD MPs walking upto the well of the House, forcing V Radhakrishnan, who was in the chair, to adjourn it till tomorrow.

The violence against north Indians figured in the proceedings since morning.

MPs of the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal were up on their feet as soon as the House met for the day, demanding action against activists of the Shiv Sena and MNS, who allegedly beat up some north Indians appearing for a Railway Recruitment Board examination in Mumbai yesterday.

Amid unruly scenes, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the proceedings till 12:00 noon. The second adjournment was till 4 pm.