Murder of democracy: Speaker

New Delhi: Unabated uproar by Congress members in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday invited the wrath of Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who called their protests "murder of democracy" and "hijacking" the rights of 440 members by 40-50 others in the Opposition.

Mahajan also asked the Lok Sabha TV, which broadcasts live proceedings of the House, to show the "irresponsible" opposition members so that the whole country could see their behaviour.

The Speaker's angry response came as protesting members intensified their slogan-shouting in the Well and the Chair refused to adjourn the House and deciding to continue with the work.

Many Congress members were seen raising placards close to the Speaker's podium so that they could be seen on camera, prompting Parliamentary Affairs Ministry M venkaiah Naidu to launch an attack on the main opposition party Congress, before Mahajan too spoke against it.

"What is this happening? 20 people cannot dictate the entire House. Let action be taken. What kind of tamasha is this? They go to the Speaker's house to protest and are now showing placards on the face of the Speaker," Naidu said as Congress members raised slogans on their demands. Naidu's response came after BJP veteran L K Advani was too seen expressing concern over the disruptions to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Naidu.

Congress is insisting that it would not allow Parliament to function till action is taken against Sushma Swaraj and BJP CMs Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh for their alleged role in Lalit Modi and Vyapam controversies.

As Naidu spoke, Mahajan lamented "what can be done" before attacking the protesting members, some of whom were apparently urging her to adjourn the House.

The government's last-minute push for a major tax reform fell flat, with the opposition Congress refusing to call off protests in Parliament to allow a discussion on the Goods and Services Tax (GST). "The Congress' policies were a liability on the country when in power, and its policies remain a liability today," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, accusing the opposition party of seeking to obstruct the country's economic growth.

The GST Bill has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha, where the government has a huge majority. But in the Rajya Sabha, it is heavily reliant on the support of the opposition. As the bill was introduced there, Congress members stormed into the well shouting "This won't do."

Jaitley hit out at Sonia and Rahul Gandhi saying they had taken the defeat in 2014 elections badly and were creating obstacles in the path of national growth.

Hitting back, Congress alleged that PM’s "insincerity" and "obduracy" were responsible for Parliament logjam and demanded that BJP apologise for "damaging" India's growth story by opposing progressive legislations during UPA rule. The opposition party was reacting after Modi accused Congress of "misusing" Parliament to stop the country's growth as several important bill remained pending due to disruption of proceeding in the two Houses.

Meanwhile, members in Rajya Sabha raised the issue of protocol alleging that Upper House members were considered lower than those of Lok Sabha and seniority was not given any consideration. Raising the issue, Naresh Agrawal (SP) said the government while forming vigilance committees in each district have made Lok Sabha members as chairmen and not anyone from the Upper House.