Parliament adjourned; BJP wants PM, Bansal, Ashwani to quit

Mangalore Today/DHNS

New Delhi, May 7: Both houses of parliament were repeatedly disrupted and were adjourned till Wednesday as the BJP pressed for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks and also demanded that ministers P.K. Bansal and Ashwani Kumar step down.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon as soon as it convened. When the house resumed at noon, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party advanced to the speaker’s podium demanding the prime minister’s resignation. They also demanded the resignations of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister Bansal.

 

Speaker Meira Kumar tried to pacify the BJP members but they refused to budge and persisted with their slogan-shouting. As the ruckus continued, Congress MP Francisco Sardinha, who was in the chair, adjourned the house till 1 p.m and later for the day as the opposition did not allow Congress member Bhakta Charan Das to resume his speech on the food security bill.

The upper house witnessed similar scenes with BJP members shouting slogans against the prime minister. Amid the chaos, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the house till 2 p.m and later for the day.

Both houses have seen repeated disruptions by opposition parties over the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.

The BJP has said it will not let parliament function till Manmohan Singh resigns over the alleged involvement of his office in the irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum and Bansal and Ashwani Kumar quit too.

"When they will be removed from the council of ministers or resign, only then will we let parliament function and allow the food security bill and the land acquisition bill to be passed," senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde told reporters here.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath accused the opposition of double standards.
"Outside the house they say they want the food and land bills. Inside, they don’t let the house run and debate the bills. Other parties want the bill," he said.
"Both are historic bills. The food bill benefits around 65 percent of the population. The opposition doesn’t want that. The Karnataka results tomorrow will decide who is corrupt," he said.

While Bansal’s nephew was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly taking a bribe for the appointment of a member of the Railway Board, Ashwani Kumar has come under attack in the Supreme Court for vetting the CBI report on coal allocation.