A united Opposition today tried to stall a government move in the Lok Sabha to take up for consideration a bill to amend laws to allow banks to participate in futures trading contending that the changes were not vetted by a Parliamentary panel.

As Finance Minister P Chidambaram made a request to the presiding officer in the Lok Sabha to take up the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, members of the BJP, Left parties and Trinamool Congress demanded deferment of the move.

Amid uproar, the Lok Sabha was adjourned twice--first for about 30 minutes and then for the day.

Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) and Yashwant Sinha (BJP) and Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) objected to government incorporating fresh amendments, which were beyond the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Finance, to the Bill.

Girija Vyas, who was in the chair, turned down the objections citing past precedent and called Anurag Thakur (BJP) to initiate the discussion. However, amid an uproar the proceedings were adjourned for the day just before 5 pm.

Earlier, BJP, Left parties and TMC insisted that the Bill for consideration had been changed even after the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Finance and it needed to be scrutinised by the panel again.

"The minister has made a proposal to suspend the rule to bring certain amendments. You may kindly take the sense of the House in this regard," Acharia said when Chidambaram sought to move that the Bill be taken up for consideration.

Sinha said through the new amendments, which have not been vetted by the Standing Committee, the government wanted banks to invest in speculative trading.

"What will be the condition of the banks if they invest in speculative trade or commodity futures," Sinha argued.

Sinha cited the precedence of the Companies Bill, which was again referred to the Standing Committee.

Arch rivals in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress and CPI-M leaders made common cause and trooped into the Well raising slogans against the Bill as BJP members supported them from their seats.

Vyas called Chidambaram for an explanation but amid the din adjourned the proceedings till 4:45 pm.

When the House reassembled, members of Trinamool and Left parties trooped to the Well once again demanding that the bill be referred to the Standing Committee.

Vyas said members should raise objections when the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill is taken up by the House.

She said it was not for the first time that the minister in charge of a Bill has been permitted to move the Motion for Suspension of Rule 80 (i) which states that an amendment shall be within the scope of the Bill and relevant to the subject-matter of the clause to which it relates.

"Therefore, as per past practice and exercising her power under Rule 388, the Hon. Speaker has permitted the Minister to move the Motion for Suspension of Rule 80 (i)," Vyas said giving her ruling on the issue.

However, as the uproar continued, the chair adjourned the proceedings for the day.