Lok Sabha adjourned over US gurudwara attack

The Lok Sabha was adjourned Thursday after heated exchanges between Akali Dal members and the government over the recent attack on a gurudwara in the US by a lone gunman who killed six devotees.

Akali Dal member Harsimrat Kaur raised the issue during zero hour and alleged that the central government was not doing anything in the matter.

Her demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should lead an all-party delegation to the US was supported by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.

Sushma Swaraj also said the government should come back to the house with the details of the incident and the steps it has taken on Monday when parliament will resume work after extended week-end.

The Akali Dal members heckled Congress member Partap Singh Bajwa who praised the prime minister for his handling of the killings in the attack on the gurudwara in Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin Sunday.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told the house that the prime minister had spoken to US President Barack Obama, who had offered his condolences and ordered the US flag to fly at half mast in mourning.

But the Akali members continued to disrupt the proceedings.

Prodded by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Bansal countered them by saying they should not play politics over the issue.

"Whatever has happened is a tragedy for the whole nation and it is a matter of concern... we should not bake our political cake over the funeral pyre of the victims...it is not good," said Bansal.

He said the Akalis should have instead opted for a calling attention motion on the subject to which the government would have been obliged to reply.

"We are concerned over the issue... why are you playing politics over it... what has your (Shiromani Akali Dal) government (in Punjab) done in the matter?" Bansal countered.

This did not satisfy the Akali Dal members who continued to create a ruckus in the house, forcing AIADMK leader M. Thambidurai, who was in the chair, to adjourn the Lok Sabha till 2 p.m.

Bahujan Samaj Party member Dara Singh Chauhan also expressed his party's concern over the incident.