The lower house erupted in anti-war rhetoric and forced a brief adjournment after MPs said they were still unhappy with the government's refusal to issue an outright condemnation of the conflict in the Gulf.

A second day of meetings between national political leaders on the thorny issue ended inconclusively earlier Tuesday and MPs were at daggers drawn when they assembled in the house demanding a full debate on the Iraq war.

The government has offered a statement "deploring" the war, but the opposition insists the wording is not strong enough to convey India's criticism of the conflict to the international community.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist BJP party-led coalition government enjoys an undisputed majority in parliament's 545-seat lower house, but the opposition made up in noisy protests what it lacks in legislative numbers.

"Every leader has agreed to the draft resolution, so what is standing in the way of the government accepting it," veteran Communist leader Somnath Chatterjee said.

Meanwhile, the government was slated to reply to questions on the increasing activities of the pan-Islamic Jaish-e-Mohammad rebel group, which India blames for an attack on the parliament building on December 13, 2001.

The current session, which reopened Monday after a month's holiday, is set to review more than a dozen draft laws, including one on the the reservation of a third of seats in parliament and state assemblies for women.

SPACE.WIRE