Uproar over Ayodhya yatra stalls Rajya Sabha thrice

Sloganeering by SP, BJP members; former allege attack by BJP workers on their Delhi office, latter deny it

Uproar over the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) controversial Ayodhya yatra stalled the functioning of the Rajya Sabha, with Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members forcing three adjournments during the pre-lunch sitting.

Soon after the House met for the day, SP members shouted slogans, alleging an attack by BJP workers on their Delhi office, a charge strongly denied by the main opposition party.

The issue forced two adjournments before Zero Hour, as Chairman Hamid Ansari's repeated efforts to restore normalcy in the House did not yield any result. When the House resumed at noon, BJP members came into the aisle, shouting slogans. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, who was in the Chair, criticised this, saying leaders of parties had decided they would not raise slogans in the House. Kurien also said the slogans would not go on record.     

"It (slogan) won't go on record. It is indiscipline," Kurien said. Members from the BJP also shouted slogans but they did not come into the aisle. While leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley remained seated, other BJP members were on their feet.

During Question Hour, two Congress members from the Seemandhra region kept shouting in the Well, holding placards demanding a united Andhra Pradesh. They later went back to their seats but kept protesting, waving placards from there. Earlier, Congress leader B K Hariprasad, elected from Karnataka to the Upper House, took oath.

VHP workers released
The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday released 958 VHP workers, including its leader Ashok Singhal, while shifting Pravin Togadia and some others from Faizabad to Etah, a day after they were taken into custody for taking out a yatra from Ayodhya, defying a ban.

Faizabad District Magistrate Vipin Dwivedi, while interacting with reporters in Lucknow on Monday, cited "shortage of space" behind shifting VHP leaders Pravin Togadia, Ram Vilas Vedanti and former BJP MLA Lallu Singh to Etah district jail. Others arrested on Sunday were shifted to Lucknow.

The VHP activists, led by national organising secretary Dinesh Kumar, initiated a dharna at the collectorate office in Lucknow. Reports reaching Lucknow said that demonstrations were also staged in Barabanki, Allahabad and Shahjahanpur districts. While the dharna sthal at Faizabad was cordoned off by security personnel, activists defied prohibitory orders in Etah and raised slogans against the Akhilesh Yadav government and burnt his effigy at Etah.

According to information reaching Lucknow, activists gave a memorandum addressed to the President through respective district magistrates. Meanwhile, some who had opposed the timing of the parikrama performed a shuddhi—buddhi yagna to pray for wisdom for the VHP leaders.

Police said tight security was still in place though life had started to limping back to normalcy in the twin temple towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad.

On Sunday, the state government arrested and detained over 2,000 VHP leaders and sadhus all over the state to foil the 84-kosi parikrama, which it had banned earlier.