Both Houses of Parliament on Monday witnessed angry verbal exchanges between BJP and CPI(M) MPs, forcing adjournments over Sunday’s clashes between BJP-RSS activists and CPI(M) cadres at the latter’s party headquarters in New Delhi.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil assured Rajya Sabha that the Centre would hold talks with the Kerala Government for restoration of peace in the state where both CPI(M) and RSS workers have been killed in recent violence. His assurance came after an impromptu debate on the Sunday attack which the Left parties alleged was engineered by the RSS and BJP. But BJP MPs hit back, saying the root cause of the incident was violence against their cadres in Kerala.

In Lok Sabha, BJP MPs stood in the well while both sides spoke on the incident. Throughout the discussion, BJP members raised slogans, “Kerala ki sarkar sharam karo”, “CPI(M) ki goondagardi nahin chalegi” and even displayed posters of a murdered party worker with his severed head lying next to the torso. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee warned BJP members not to show posters, citing violation of parliamentary norms.

Raising the issue, CPI(M)’s Mohammad Salim said those who carried out the attack were so “ashamed” themselves that they did not display any flag. Four BJP corporators of Delhi, he alleged, were involved in the attack and a party flag was found in a car in which stones were brought for pelting at the CPI(M) headquarters.

“The RSS was itself so ashamed that it used the name of some Hindu Manch. Why are they using the Hindu name to indulge in violence? I condemn it,” he said.

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