Newdelhi: Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned, the Lok Sabha for the day due to the death a sitting BJP member, Dilip Singh Judev and the Rajya Sabha till noon over the demand by Samajwadi Party members for special status to Uttar Pradesh.

In her obituary reference, Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar said, Judev was a distinguished Parliamentarian, who had served as Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests in 2003.

Both Houses also mourned the death of 18 naval personnel including three officers on board the Indian Navy submarine INS Sindhurakshak in Mumbai on the intervening night of 13 and 14 of this month due to an explosion and fire.

The Rajya Sabha, which witnessed noisy scenes over the demand of Samajwadi Party members seeking special status for Uttar Pradesh, was adjourned twice, first for 15 minutes and later till noon. Earlier, Chairman Mohammed Hamid Ansari made a reference to the death of Dilip Singh Judev. He said Judev represented Madhya Pradesh twice in the Upper House between 1992 and 2000. Later, he represented Chhattisgarh from 2004 to 2009.

Referring to the demand for special status for Uttar Pradesh, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said the government has not taken any decision on this matter. He said the government has appointed a committee to work out the criteria for giving special status to any state. As noisy scenes prevailed, the Chairman adjourned the House till noon.