The lower house went into recess after several agitated members of parliament from the eastern state of Bihar stormed the well of the house demanding the issue be taken up.

Bihar state MP Prabhunath Singh from the Samata (People's) Party accused India's main opposition Congress party, which rules Assam, of turning a blind eye to targetted killings.

"Biharis living in Assam are being murdered, their property looted and the police are silent spectators," Singh said.

"Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is doing very little to prevent the large-scale violence -- he is involved," Singh added, provoking an outcry from the Congress benches.

In an effort to stem the ethnic violence, India's ruling party recently announced that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was prepared to talk with a rebel group in Assam blamed for killing 54 Hindi-speaking settlers last month.

The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has not responded to past government appeals to end its campaign for an independent homeland. More than 10,000 people have died in insurgency in Assam in the past two decades.