New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) Both houses of parliament were Tuesday adjourned till 12 noon amid noisy scenes as the opposition raised the issue of the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare, whose fast for a strong Lokpal bill entered day eight.


In the Lok Sabha, there was a prolonged verbal duel between Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj (Bharatiya Janata Party) and Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.K. Bansal following which Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house till 12 noon.

Bansal objected as Sushma Swaraj - who had given a notice for suspension of the question hour for a discussion on the Hazare fast and recent developments - mentioned recent corruption scandals like the 2G spectrum scam and the Adarsh Housing Society scandal. He said she was deviating from the topic.

The BJP leader countered by saying that the issues were related. Bansal then suggested the discourse be tranformed into a special discussion on corruption, for which the government was ready. However, Sushma Swaraj rejected the suggestion and said the special discussion, under Rule 193, be held later.

As the arguments and counter arguments continued amid noisy support from the MPs of each side, the speaker adjourned the house.

There were similar scenes in the Rajya Sabha with the BJP demanding that question hour be suspended for a discussion on corruption.

As soon as the upper house met, members of the BJP, which had submitted a notice to suspend the question hour and take up the discussion, were up on their feet insisting on their demand.

Ruling party members tried to counter the opposition by shouting slogans demanding that question hour proceed.

Repeated pleas from Chairman Hamid Ansari for raising the issue after question hour went unheard and the house was adjourned till 12 noon.