The issue of the CAG report on coal block allocation rocked Parliament for the seventh successive day today with a determined BJP persisting with its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation but the government pushed through two bills in the Lok Sabha.
Uproarious scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha after they assembled for the day, with BJP members storming the Well shouting slogans against the Prime Minister and the Congress.
In both Houses, members of NDA allies Shiv Sena and SAD were on their feet but they did not go into the Well while JD(U) members remained seated.
The slogan shouting by the BJP was countered by Congress members, who hailed the Prime Minister.
In the Rajya Sabha, Congress member from Jharkhand Pradip Balmuchu led the charge shouting slogans against the BJP and taunting the Opposition party for boycotting Parliament.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after the first adjournment with Speaker Meira Kumar taking up two legislations - Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill.
In the din, the two bills were passed by voice vote without any discussion after Minister of State for Chemicals Srikant Jena and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad moved them.
Dharna tomorrow
With Parliament proceedings continuing to be disrupted over the coal block allocation issue, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today met leaders of CPI, CPI(M) and TDP and decided to hold a dharna tomorrow to demand restoration of normalcy in the House and a debate on the issue.
Other Opposition parties, even those from the BJP-led NDA like JD(U) and Akali Dal, do not favour disruption of proceedings and have been demanding debate on the CAG report into the coal block allocation and other issues.
Apart from Mr Yadav, sources said the meeting was attended by CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia, CPI’s Gurudas Dasgupta and TDP’s Nama Nageshwar Rao.
The leaders of these parties decided to hold a sit-in of their MPs inside the Parliament House complex tomorrow.
The sources said MPs of some other non-UPA parties are also likely to join the dharna and talks were on with them.
Mr Yadav also sought an inquiry into the coal blocks allocation by a sitting Supreme Court judge.
Uproar in Rajya Sabha
In Rajya Sabha, BJP members started shouting “coal, coal, coal...” as soon as Chairman Hamid Ansari took up the first listed question of the day.
BJP-led NDA members shouted slogans demanding resignation of the Prime Minister.
All the while, ruling Congress members countered the slogan shouting by praising the Prime Minister.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanasamy, against whose name the first question of the day on time limit for action against corrupt officials was listed, said he was prepared to reply.
“It is a very important question. I am ready to answer...people of this country should know the action being taken,” he said amid slogan shouting.
For a few minutes Mr Ansari tried to conduct the proceedings, asking members to raise supplementaries.
But, as slogan shouting BJP members started coming to the Well, he adjourned the House till 2 pm.
