Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla Tuesday got embroiled in a controversy when he was heard telling Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien to adjourn the house after the opposition whipped up an uproar over the CAG report on coal blocks allotment.
Kurien was in the chair when opposition members started shouting slogans in unison against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the government.
Shukla went to the chair and whispered in Kurein's ear, "Pure din Ke liye House adjourn kara dijiye (Adjourn the House for the day)." In an embarrassment, the remarks were caught into Kurien's mike and got recorded.
The house was subsequently adjourned for the day.
The Bharatiya Janata Party took strong exception to it and said it has "exposed Congress design" to stall the functioning of parliament.