Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day as Opposition presses for PM's statement on note ban

Barely half an hour after the House resumed after two previous adjournments, trouble broke loose once again forcing Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to call it a day.

The House will reassemble on Thursday morning.

Earlier, both Houses of Parliament were adjourned first till 12 pm and then till 2 pm as the recalcitrant Opposition continued to demand a statement from the Prime Minister on demonetisation and his apology for the death of scores of citizens who had stood in bank queues, slogans rent the air paralysing normal business.

In a rebuff, BJP members also resorted to shouting slogans, "Himmat hai to charcha karo" (If you have the guts, come for discussions) and there was a no holds barred situation with utter chaos threatening a wash out of business  also on the day 16 of the Winter Session.

In the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley came down heavily on the Opposition, saying they were creating all the trouble for publicity getting publicity in electronic media.

"The Opposition disrupts proceedings for one reason or the other. I challenge them to begin the debate if they have courage," Jaitley said.

"They raise the issue everyday for two minutes during Zero Hour for television coverage. They don't bother whether discussion continues or not," he said.

Before the beginning of day 16 of  Parliament, the Opposition party leaders reportedly met to discuss demonetisation.

The BJP's Parliamentary board also met to discuss the issue.

On Tuesday, the RBI  announced that it will shortly issue new notes of Rs 100 and the old notes will continue as legal tender.