New Delhi, 25 July

The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice in the post-lunch period on Thursday as a war of words broke out between the treasury and opposition benches, triggered by Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi's spat with the BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu.

Participating in a debate on the Union Budget, Channi referred to the assassination of Bittu's grandfather, former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. This led to a war of words between Bittu, who recently quit the Congress to join the BJP, and Channi.

Bittu, the Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, countered by making certain personal remarks against Channi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, triggering an uproar. BJP member Sandhya Ray, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings for 30 minutes till 2pm.

When the House reconvened, Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh urged the speaker to remove any unparliamentary references and continue with the debate.

Speaker Om Birla also directed the treasury and the opposition members to maintain the dignity of the House, adding that ministers especially should not break the rules. Channi then proceeded to conclude his speech.

He mentioned the meeting of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi with some farmer leaders on Wednesday, adding that they had also sought time to meet the prime minister. Channi also accused the government of not keeping its promises to the farmers.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal intervened and accused the Congress MP of misleading the House, saying he should authenticate the allegations he was making.

Channi accused the ruling party members of obstructing his speech and alleged that the government was overlooking farmers. He stressed that the farmers had several demands, including one for a loan waiver.

As he alleged that National Security Act provisions were invoked against protesting farmers, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Channi should authenticate the allegations and accused him of misleading the House.

Rijiju also urged the chair to move a privilege motion against Channi. The war of words between the ruling and the opposition benches went on even after Channi concluded his speech and the chair adjourned the House till 3pm as the ruckus continued.