New Delhi, July 13 - The virginity tests conducted on brides before a mass wedding in Madhya Pradesh generated much heat in the Rajya Sabha Monday - not so much because they were conducted at all but for the manner in which the issue was being raised in the house.

As Santosh Bagrodia (Congress) raised the issue during zero hour by reading out from a newspaper report, opposition members were immediately on their feet, saying he was being selective in giving details of the incident.

'Why is he reading selectively? Why doesn't he read out the government version?' shouted S.S. Ahluwalia of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while Bagrodia pleaded that he be allowed to continue.

Other members wondered why newspaper reports were being quoted, prompting Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan to retort: 'Fifty percent of the issues raised during zero hour are based on newspaper reports.'

This didn't satisfy Najma Heptullah, also of the BJP and herself a former deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

'(On another issue) Pranab babu (Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee) said 'don't go by newspaper reports'. Now he (Bagrodia) is going by newspaper reports,' she maintained.

After finally managing to restore order in the house, Khan called on Bagrodia to make his statement. On Bagrodia concluding it, the deputy chairman called on Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to associate with it but she refused to do so.

'I cannot associate with it in the manner in which it has been raised.