CAG report on coal block allocations rock Parliament
The CAG report on coal block allocations rocked Parliament on Tuesday with a determined Opposition disrupting proceedings by demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who held the Coal portfolio when the alleged irregularities took place.
The Lok Sabha could not transact
any business because of the unruly scenes, which first resulted in adjournment till noon and then for the day.
The Rajya Sabha could function only to allow the unanimous election of Congress leader PJ Kurien as deputy chairman of the House before it was adjourned for the day amid uproar.
As soon as Lok Sabha met for the day, Opposition members, including those from BJP, JD-U, SAD, Shiv Sena and BJD, among others, trooped into the Well, demanding the Prime Minister's resignation.
Left, AIADMK and TDP members also supported the demand.
The CAG report tabled in Parliament last Friday stated that there has been an estimated loss of Rs. 1.86 lakh crore due to coal block allocation without auction from 2005 to 2009.
In the wake of uproar, speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House till noon.
Similar scenes were witnessed when the House met again, with Opposition members trooping into the Well again.
Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde tried to placate the members, saying, "We have no objection to a discussion."
Kumar asked the members to calm down. "If the sense of the House is that there should be a discussion we can discuss this issue," she said, amid the din.
With members continuing to raise slogans in the Well, Kumar adjourned the House for the day.
In the Rajya Sabha, almost the entire Opposition led by BJP deputy leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, M Venkaiah Naidu and Shivanand Tiwari (JD-U) were on their feet and raised slogans as soon as the House assembled.
While BJP-led NDA demanded the Prime Minister's resignation, Left parties wanted the government to spell out its stand on the three CAG reports.
Amid the din, Samajwadi Party, which supports the UPA government from outside, protested steel minister Beni Prasad Verma's comments on inflation.
Verma, who deserted SP to join Congress, had stated that high food inflation was good as it benefited farmers.
Chairman Hamid Ansari repeatedly appealed for calm but as his plea went unheeded, he adjourned the House till noon.
When the House met again, there was calm and the election of Kurien as deputy chairman was taken up in a rare show of bonhomie.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed Kurien's name for the post, which was seconded by leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley.
After Ansari announced Kurien's election and members felicitated him, the Prime Minister and Jaitley escorted him to the Chair's seat.
However, as soon as the Kurien called for legislative business of resuming discussion on the Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, the opposition members were on their feet.
They raised slogans like "Pradhanmantri jawab do" (Prime Minister should reply) and "Ghotalon ki ye sarkar nahi chalegi" (This scam-tainted government should go).
The government countered the attack with parliamentary affairs minister PK Bansal and ministers of state Rajeev Shukla and V Narayanasamy saying the government was ready for discussion but the opposition was running away.
"We are ready for a discussion. They are running away from it as their CM is involved," Shukla was heard as saying. He, however, did not name anyone.
As the uproar continued, Kurien adjourned the House for the day.