New Delhi, July 22
The “dropping” of conspiracy charge against Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani in the Ayodhya case rocked both Houses of Parliament today.

While the issue forced the adjournment of the Lok Sabha for the second day today, in the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat reversed his earlier ruling in the day and allowed the Opposition demand to discuss the issue tomorrow.

Speaker Manohar Joshi rejected all adjournment motions, including the one in the Ayodhya case.

As soon as question hour in the Lok Sabha was over, agitated members from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD and Left parties stormed the well demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

In the midst of the din, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar made a statement on the recent train accidents, saying that action was being taken to further intensify safety drives. Various reports were also laid on the table of the House.

The ruckus in the Lok Sabha continued despite the Speaker’s willingess to permit a discussion on the issue. He adjourned the House for 90 minutes.

When the House met again, the Opposition members again created unruly scenes, rushed to the well of the House and shouted slogans demanding Mr Vajpayee’s resignation.

Deputy Speaker P.M. Sayeed tried to restore order by taking up the Special Mentions but the continued din forced him to adjourn the House for the day. He declared that the Mentions would be treated as laid on the table of the House.

In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Shekhawat stated that his hands were “tied by the rules, conventions and the Constitution”. He attributed his change of mind to his desire to allow a debate on administrative matters.

His ruling came after Opposition members during the post-lunch session requested him to reconsider his earlier ruling rejecting a discussion on the issue. He adjourned the House for the day to enable the members to prepare themselves for the discussion.

The chair’s ruling came after Law and Justice Minister Arun Jaitley strongly opposed the admissibility of the motion on the ground that since the matter was sub judice, it was not in the domain of Parliament to discuss it.