Chandigarh, March 18 -- Hit by twin setbacks in Rajya Sabha elections--invalidation of four votes and cross-voting by five of its MLAs--a rattled Congress on Tuesday brought Haryana Assembly proceedings to a grinding halt, accusing the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government of "vote theft" and "murder of democracy."

The embarrassing aftershocks of the Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh winning by a whisker despite comfortable numbers on paper, began reverberating in the House after the Question Hour. The ruckus continued till post-lunch break despite Congress forcing one adjournment earlier.

The tussle reached a crescendo when speaker Harvinder Kalyan resumed debate on budget estimates after an hour-long lunch recess. Congress MLAs b...