House functioning paralysed

Alarmed by the growing closeness between its erstwhile ally the Trinamool Congress and the Congress party in West Bengal, the BJP today stalled both Houses of Parliament on the Singur issue.

Agitated BJP members stormed the well in both Houses, targeting what they termed the 'anti-farmer' West Bengal government and demanding immediate release of party chief Rajnath Singh who had courted arrest in West Bengal on this issue. This led to the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for the day.

In the Lok Sabha, trouble began after Railway Minister Lalu Prasad made a statement on the train tragedy at Bhagalpur and BJP member Shahnawaz Hussein demanded his resignation over the incident, BJP members stormed the well focusing their ire on communists.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who was in no mood to adjourn the House, dubbed the issue as a 'state matter' and took up Zero Hour in the din. The House broke up for lunch and the BJP, seeing that its protests were not having the desired effect, decided to boycott not just the House but also the business advisory committee meeting.

The BJP's active espousal of the Singur land acquisition issue, which has surprisingly put the party on the same side as rival activist Medha Patkar, can be directly attributed to its fear over the Trinamool Congress' defection to the Congress.

The BJP, which has no presence in West Bengal, depends on Mamata for support and to take on its traditional rivals, the Left parties, on their home turf.

Asked whether the dramatic support to Mamata would woo her away from the Congress into the NDA fold, a senior BJP leader said, "It is a million dollars question, Mamata is a difficult woman to predict."