Pandemonium over Telangana marked the first day of the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with ruling party MPs as intent on disrupting the House as the Opposition.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, summed up the chaotic proceedings in her grave submission to the House over the killing of Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh.

“What we see in the House today is a reflection of the kind of absurdities that prevail. Congress MPs are disrupting the House. A Minister of State has given a notice for suspension of the question hour. I do not know what to say. Is this the way to discuss serious business in the House?” she asked.

Swaraj’s observations were not entirely off the mark, as the Lok Sabha was constantly disrupted and twice adjourned. The Congress’ appeal to allow smooth functioning of the Houses to get key Bills passed rang hollow, as party members from Andhra Pradesh were active participants in the disruptions.

“The ruling parties in Delhi as well as the Centre have created an absurd situation. Instead of focusing on providing security and ensuring justice to the student brutally killed in the Capital, both the Congress Vice-President and the Delhi Chief Minister decide to agitate at Jantar Mantar,” Swaraj told the House.

Noisy scenes were witnessed with members from Andhra Pradesh — Telangana as well as Seemandhra regions — cutting across party lines and storming the Well.

Uproar in RS While the Lok Sabha was adjourned for a day over Telangana, there was uproar in the Rajya Sabha over the Anti-Communal Violence Bill. The Bill, a pet project of Sonia Gandhi over which the National Advisory Council has worked for over three years, had to be deferred in the Upper House because of constant disruptions. Senior ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde and AK Antony seemed helpless in the face of disruptions over Telangana.

The Congress has stated its serious intent in pushing for the passage of six pending anti-graft Bills, two of which were even listed (Grievance Redressal and Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials) for legislative business on Thursday. However, Rahul Gandhi himself was not seen inside the House, raising questions about whether the ruling party is serious about getting these Bills passed.

The ruling party was clearly unable to rein in its own MPs from Andhra Pradesh. The BJP has a stated position in support of the creation of Telangana but is not going to help the Congress in its smooth passage. “The ruling party is primarily responsible for the functioning of the House. They are creating chaos. Why should the Opposition be so responsible as to help in the passage of any legislation when they are keen on disrupting the House?” asked a senior BJP leader.

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