The attack on North Indians in Maharashtra generated major uproar in the Lok Sabha on Monday, with demands that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray be detained under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and that he be disenfranchised.

Members from Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party, most of them belonging to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, expressed grave concern over the attack on North Indians in Maharashtra and said it posed threat to national unity and integrity.

Shiv Sena leader Anant Gite sought to downplay the issue, saying it has been exaggerated and said North Indians in Mumbai and other parts of the state were not under threat.

His statements on the issue evoked strong protests from several members, leading to an abrupt adjournment of the House for ten minutes.

When the House reassembled later, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who since morning was unhappy with the demeanour of the Members, strongly denounced statements intended to divide the country and said, "I cannot be party to it. I express my strong disapproval."

The issue led to an impromptu discussion during Question Hour, as Prabhunath Singh of JD-U insisted that he wanted to raise the matter and he had given a notice for suspension of Question Hour.

Accusing the state government and the Centre of not taking prompt action against Thackeray, he said the MNS chief should be booked under MCOCA.

Among the prominent leaders who were present in the House during the discussion were Union Ministers Lalu Prasad and Sharad Pawar [Images]. 

"In 1966, when Bal Thackeray made similar comments, a case was filed against him under Sections 153 and 153-A. Raj Thackeray was arrested and taken to court in a procession and then he is free. Is this how law is enforced," Singh asked.

Further attacking Congress on the issue, he said North Indians have been attacked in party-ruled states like Assam and Maharashtra and also referred to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's remarks on people from Bihar and UP migrating to the national capital.

Critical of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, he said his statements on the issue were 'contradictory'.

RJD leader Devendra Yadav termed the Maharashtra scenario as an 'extraordinary situation' and cited a news report about a vendor from Bihar whose arms were chopped off and sent to his native place in Siwan district during the anti-North Indian campaign.

He said it was unfortunate that such divisive activities were taking place in the same state that produced personalities like B R Ambedkar, Lata Mangeshkar [Images], Jyotiba Phule, Sharad Pawar and Madhu Dandavate.

Yadav noted that 47 per cent of the people in Mumbai are non-Marathis and they have contributed to the economic growth of the country through hard labour.

"Central government should intervene in the matter. The law of the land should prevail. The matter should be referred to the Election Commission and MNS should be banned. Those guilty should also be banned," he said.

BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain accused the Congress of conspiring to give publicity to the MNS president.

"I am not levelling allegations against anyone. I am only fixing accountability on the government," he said.

"The UPA government at the Centre overlooked the matter for long and Thackeray got undue publicity," he said.

Ramjilal Suman of Samajwadi Party criticised the state government's handling of the situation, saying it should have dealt with the guilty quickly.

Abu Azmi, also of the Samajwadi Party, said had appropriate measures been taken in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition and the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, the divisive elements would not have been encouraged.