Lawmakers tore pieces of papers in aggressive protests in Parliament.(PTI)
The monsoon session of Parliament has witnessed some aggressive protests, but matters seemed to get completely out of hand on Tuesday over an argument between the government and the Opposition on how the Lalit Modi controversy should be debated in the Lok Sabha.
So much so that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan at one point requested the Parliament channel Lok Sabha TV to stop blocking visuals of protests in the well or centre of the house and "let the nation watch" what its MPs were doing.
Her reprimand that "40 MPs want to snatch the rights of 440 MPs who want to participate in business," - a reference to the Congress which has only 44 lawmakers - made the Opposition party protest even louder.
Almost the entire Congress contingent gathered in the well and held up placards and raised slogans. At one point some members tore pieces of paper and flung them, forcing Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai to hastily leave the chair.
The Speaker took the chair to try and control the lawmakers, but was forced to adjourn the House for the day soon.
Outside Parliament, a visibly upset Ms Mahajan said, "This is the limit. They were raising their hands while talking as though blaming the Speaker... People have to see how their elected representatives behave. I think people have to think about what to do."
The Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge has alleged that BJP lawmakers attempted to "intimidate, assault and elbow" MPs from his party in the House, a reference to attempts by a few BJP lawmakers to prevent the protesting Congressmen from moving towards the government benches.
The entire fracas was built around the motion under which the Lower House would debate what is called 'Lalitgate'; the Congress wants a vote at the end of it, while the government says a discussion without vote is its best offer.
The monsoon session has already seen an unprecedented suspension for five days of 25 Congress MPs for unruly behaviour by the Speaker.