Rajya Sabha adjourned over Gujarat Lokayukta appointment

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The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon on Friday as members of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised the issue of the appointment of the Gujarat Lokayukta without consulting the state government.

As the house took up the question hour after government clarifications on elections of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), members from the BJP raised the issue of the Gujarat Lokayukta, calling it a violation of the country's federal structure.

The agitated members created a din and Chairman Hamid Ansari first adjourned the house for 15 minutes.

However, as the house reassembled, the members trooped close to the chairman's podium and he then adjourned the house till noon.

A delegation led by senior BJP leader L.K. Advani will meet President Pratibha Patil at 1 p.m. Party president Nitin Gadkari, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will be present.

The BJP, which is the ruling party in Gujarat, has been upset over the controversial appointment of the Lokayukta in the state by Governor Kamla Beniwal, bypassing the state government.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday, raising the issue.

Beniwal last week appointed retired judge Justice R.A. Mehta as the state Lokayukta, bypassing the state government. The Gujarat government has challenged the decision in the high court. The post was lying vacant for the past seven years.