The Lok Sabha was adjourned – till 2 pm – for the second time on Tuesday after the Congress walked out of the House in protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments about his predecessor Manmohan Singh during the Gujarat Assembly election campaign.

The Lok Sabha had resumed at 12 pm after a brief adjournment of about half an hour after members of the Congress stormed the well of the House seeking an apology from Modi for his comments. They shouted slogans saying, “Narendra Modi maafi maango”, The Hindu reported.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had been adjourned on Monday because of this. Modi had alleged that Singh spoke to Pakistani officials about the Gujarat elections. Singh on December 11 accused his successor of spreading “falsehoods” to “score political points” by claiming that suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had held a secret meeting with Pakistani officials.

As Question Hour began, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Jai Prakash Yadav demanded that the National Security Guard protection for Lalu Prasad Yadav be reinstated. “He might be killed today. A lot of people adore him and he needs to be protected,” he said.

In the Rajya Sabha

The Congress raised Modi’s comments on Manmohan Singh in the Upper House, too. “Dr Manmohan Singh ji’s integrity and loyalty to the country has been questioned,” Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said. “PM should come in the house and make it clear.”

Leader of the House Arun Jaitley urged Azad to “try and discuss [and] find a solution to the issue”.

The MPs agreed to discuss the issue among themselves outside the House and come to a resolution after Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu asked them to maintain the sanctity of the Upper House.

Congress leaders, meanwhile, opposed the Centre’s plan to set up 12 special courts to try pending criminal cases against MPs and MLAs.

Congress MP Anand Sharma said, “The government should ensure allocation of adequate funds for setting up enough number of courts so that people do not remain in prison for long periods and the trial is done”, according to ANI.

Ghulam Nabi Azad said that “law should be for everybody” and “legislatures alone should not be singled out”. In reply, Arun Jaitley said: “Everybody must get speedy trials. Do we have vested interests in delaying trials of politicians?”

Earlier in the session, the Trinamool Congress opposed the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, and called it anti-people.

Question Hour

In the Rajya Sabha, Raj Kumar Singh, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for New and Renewable Energy, answered Shiv Sena MP Anil Desai’s question about adoption of renewable energy in Maharashtra and its benefits for industries and commercial power consumers, The Hindu reported.

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Trinamool Congress MP Nadimul Haque raised a question in the Lok Sabha about the state of the departments under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, and the steps being taken to address the lack of infrastructure. Health Minister JP Nadda said that the institute’s standard cannot be diluted and the government was addressing the issue of a lack of faculty.

Union Minister Ananth Kumar assured the House that the Centre will look into the issue of pollution of the Brahmaputra after several MPs from Assam raised questions.