Uproar in Houses over Chidambarm

The Lok Sabha witnessed uproar during Zero Hour with BJP and AIADMK members rushing into the well demanding that Chidambaram be sacked. In the din, the House was adjourned till 2 pm.

As the House met again, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav raised the issue of Chidambaram following which AIADMK members rushed to the Well raising slogans.

BJP members demanded resignation of the Home Minister. There were demands that Chidambaram be sent to jail.Members from BSP and SP also entered the well demanding early implementation of the Sachar Committee report.In view of the din, Deputy Speaker Kariya Munda adjourned the House till Friday.Earlier, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for almost two hours as BJP and AIADMK members trooped into the Well, while the Rajya Sabha witnessed an adjournment for over 50 minutes soon after it assembled for the day.Chidambaram was not present in either of the Houses when the Opposition raised the issue.

As soon as the Upper House met, BJP members showed copies of English daily carrying a report alleging that the Home Ministry under Chidambaram had earlier this year directed withdrawal of FIR against one of his former clients accused of cheating and forgery.Chandan Mitra (BJP), who raised the issue of Chidambaram's alleged conflict of interest in the matter, was supported by other party members who then trooped into the Well, refusing to heed to Chairman Hamid Ansari's appeals not to do so.To counter them, ruling Congress members stood up and displayed copies of another daily which had a report that a trust, with Anna Hazare as a member, had allegedly grabbed land in Pune.Amid vociferous protests, Ansari adjourned the House till noon and later for the day.

"The draft was not shown to the Home Minister. The file was not shown to the Home Secretary either. Even the concerned Joint secretary also said he had not seen the draft. The Home Minister had no role in withdrawal of the case," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Union Home Secretary R K Singh also claimed that the draft of a letter sent by the Home Ministry to the Delhi government for withdrawal of the FIRs had not been shown to the Home Minister or Home Secretary or the Joint Secretary concerned and it did not reflect the proper deliberations of the Home Ministry.He suggested it could be a fault of drafting.

Singh's remarks came against the backdrop of a raging controversy over the withdrawal of three FIRs against S P Gupta, who runs M/s Sunair Hotels Pvt Ltd.The three FIRs relate to Gupta allegedly misusing the names of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and defrauding a firm - VLS Finance - to the tune of several crores of rupees.Reports also suggested there was a conflict of interest as Gupta was a client of Chidambaram who fought his cases in the court as a lawyer.

However, the Ministry in a statement, said: "The Home Minister is unable to recall at this distance of time whether he appeared in a case concerning M/s Sunair Hotels Pvt Ltd at any time between 1999 and 2003".