New Delhi, May 12: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was today accused of bias by the Congress while conducting the business of the House.

Although similar allegations have been levelled indirectly by Opposition members over the past few days, today's charge was explicit and direct.

Trouble started when food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal was allowed by the Speaker to make a statement on the Amethi food park that rebutted Rahul Gandhi's accusation that the Narendra Modi government had scrapped the project out of political vendetta.

Congress members protested, asking why the minister was allowed to make the statement when she had spoken on the subject earlier.

The ruckus led to an adjournment but as the House resumed, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge strongly objected to the Speaker's decision to allow the minister to make the statement.

Kharge said: "The issue has been raised three times after Rahul talked about it. Home minister Rajnath Singh responded, BJP member Kirit Sommaiya raised it and then minister Badal made a statement. Under what rule you allowed her to speak again? Just because you have the power, you can't allow them to speak repeatedly. Use your power judiciously."

As the BJP members protested, Kharge lost his cool. He said: "Punish me if you want. Remove me from this post. I am ready to vacate my seat. But injustice can't be tolerated. When they come and ask, you allow. But you don't allow us. I am very much hurt. If you have allowed the minister, let us have a discussion on the food park tomorrow. You have to allow."

Parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu got up to say Kharge was threatening the Speaker.

Mahajan, too, responded angrily. "You have said something about me, about the Chair. I have always given time to your members. I have the record. I have to allow if a minister wants to make a written statement. That day, the minister couldn't give the full fact. Today's statement is full of facts and figures."

At this point, Congress deputy whip Deepender hooda got up and said: "You have allowed the government five times. This is not natural justice. This is not democracy. Our voice is stifled. You can't do this. We have to speak now, you have allowed them five times."

Speaker Mahajan objected, rejecting the charge that she allowed the minister five times. Hooda responded "two times Kirit Sommaiya, three times the minister."

The Speaker asked Hooda not to challenge her and adjourned the House amid ruckus. She later objected to the language being used and Hooda apologised after the House resumed.

He said: "If any word spoken by me undermines the dignity of the Chair, it is not proper. We challenged the government for repeated responses to one issue. We didn't intend to challenge the Chair. I express regret."

Minister Kaur Badal said in her statement that the promoter company neither possessed the minimum 50 acres nor the permission for the project.

"The company was granted extension several times to enable it to complete the pre-conditions for the final approval. The last extension was granted up to March 30, 2014," she added.

The Congress countered her argument, saying the project could have been salvaged as the formalities were in the process of completion.