New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS) An unrelenting BJP forced the adjournment of both houses of parliament for the sixth successive day Tuesday as it insisted on its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over alleged irregularities in coal block allocations.
A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tabled his statement on the issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party continued to block proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha right from the word go, raising slogans pressing for his resignation and refusing to let the chairs conduct business.
This resulted in both houses adjourning for the day, without any legislative business, after it met for the third time in the day at 2 p.m.
But it was not just the BJP that had a role in the din that was created by slogan shouting by members.
On the entirely different issue of India allowing military training to Sri Lankan defence personnel in its academies, members of the DMK, an ally of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), too raised slogans and walked out of their seats and on to the aisles to protest.
DMK, along with other regional political parties in Tamil Nadu, have been opposing the military training to Sri Lankan personnel.
Earlier in the day, the Lok Sabha was adjourned during question hour soon after the house met for the day at 11 a.m., as BJP MPs stalled proceedings and rushed towards Speaker Meira Kumar’s podium raising slogans demanding the prime minister’s resignation over the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report that has put presumptive losses over coal block allocations at Rs.1.86 lakh crore ($37 billion).
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha, where Chairman Hamid Ansari too adjourned the house till noon during the question hour.
The noisy protests continued in both houses when proceedings resumed and after listed papers for the day were laid.
Meira Kumar adjourned the Lok Sabha till 2 p.m. and Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien followed suit in the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP has been protesting and not letting parliament function since Aug 21, three days after the CAG report on coal blocks were tabled.
Key bills on internal security, farmers, price rise and economic slowdown are on the back burner as parliament remains stalled over the BJP’s demand.
Some of the bills pending include Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, and the Chemical Weapons (Amendment) Bill.
The bulk of them were introduced in 2011 and some in 2010.
The government had planned to take up at least 25 of the 31 pending bills in the monsoon session that ends Sep 7.
