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India parliament erupts in chaos as pepper spray used
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India’s parliament erupted in chaos yesterday over a bill to create a new state, with angry MPs coming to blows, pulling out a microphone and pepper-spraying the chamber.
Holding banners and shouting slogans, lawmakers disrupted the lower house of parliament as the Congress-led government introduced the contentious bill to carve a new state out of the existing Andhra Pradesh.
Legislators opposed to the new state of Telangana tried to rip out the speaker’s microphone while one unleashed a can of capsicum spray, prompting a rush for the exit, TV channels reported.
Several lawmakers climbed into ambulances suffering breathing problems before reportedly being taken to hospital.
Small fights also flared between MPs opposed to the bill and several trying to stop the chaos and restore order, as the parliament was adjourned, the Press Trust of India said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath slammed the unrest as a “big blot on our parliamentary democracy” and called for the strongest possible action against the offending MPs.
“It is the most shameful day in our parliamentary history,” Nath told reporters outside parliament. Seventeen MPs were suspended from the house over the unrest, which also saw lawmakers rip up official papers and smash a glass. Others wore black blindfolds as a sign of protest, PTI said.
In the confusion one MP from Andhra Pradesh, who opposes Telangana, was accused of brandishing a knife in the chamber, a claim he denied.
Cabinet last week approved the creation of Telangana, after a decades-long and sometimes violent campaign.
Mainly tribal groups have demanded Telangana be carved out of a northern, impoverished and drought-prone part of Andhra Pradesh, which supporters say has long been neglected by successive state governments.
But wealthier regions of Andhra Pradesh, home to IT giants including Google and Microsoft, have strongly opposed the split because they say it would create economic upheaval.
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