Pepper spray disrupts Indian parliament

An unidentified member of India’s Parliament, leaves the session after being affected by pepper spray on February 13, 2014. (AFP/PRAKASH SINGH)

Mayhem erupted in India’s parliament after a Congress party lawmaker fired pepper spray in the lower house, in protest against a bill. The bill would create a new Telangana state to be carved out from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. 

The chaos began when the Home Minister rose to table the bill. Lagadapati Rajagopal, a Congress legislator from Andhra Pradesh who opposes the creation of a Telangana state then released pepper spray. Before entering parliament, Rajagopal said, “they will not succeed in introducing the bill”. When asked about what he intended to do, he told media, “you will see”.  

Rajagopal was suspended for the rest of the session, along with seventeen other MPs. Those included a parliamentarian accused of flashing a knife, and another who broke the Speaker’s microphone during the scuffle.  Three MPs were hospitalised.