Parliament disrupted over army chief's claim, Telangana

New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha was Monday adjourned till noon after opposition members raised the allegations levelled by army chief Gen. V.K. Singh that he had been offered a bribe to clear a tranche of 600 substandard vehicles.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon after opposition members raised the demand for separate statehood for Telangana.

As soon as the Rajya Sabha met in the morning, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some other opposition parties were on their feet, demanding a response from the government on the revelations made by the army chief.

The BJP had give a notice for suspension of question hour on the issue.

Chairman Hamid Ansari said all matters were discussed in the house through appropriate procedures. He urged members to allow question hour to proceed. However, as opposition members did not relent, the house was adjourned till 12.

In the Lok Sabha, members of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and some other parties raised the demand for carving out a state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

Some members also raised the allegations by Gen Singh that he had been offered a bribe to clear the purchase of substandard equipment.

Speaker Meira Kumar repeatedly urged members to allow normal functioning of the house. However, as the din continued, she adjourned the house till noon.

The BJP had earlier signalled its intention to raise allegations by Gen Singh in parliament Monday.

Party MP Prakash Javadekar said the revelations by the army chief were very serious.

"The government is neckdeep in corruption...The UPA has lost the right to continue even for a day," Javadekar told television channels.

The army chief told The Hindu newspaper in an interview that he was shocked after a lobbyist offered him a Rs.14 crore bribe for the purchase of a tranche of 600 substandard vehicles.