Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon on Tuesday after Opposition uproar over delay in tabling a CAG report on allocation of coal blocks and a statement on a train accident in Andhra Pradesh.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed two adjournments before noon as Opposition BJP stood firm on its demand for suspension of Question Hour to discuss the reported Rs 1,80,000 crore loss to exchequer in allocation of coal blocks to private companies.
As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar finished making obituary references in the Lok Sabha, Opposition members were on their feet demanding a statement on the accident from Railway Minister Mukul Roy.
Ramchandra Dome (CPI-M), Ananth Kumar (BJP) and Anand Paranjpe (Shiv Sena) were on their feet demanding a statement from the government on the accident. Some TDP members trooped into the Well on the same issue.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) member Bansa Gopal Chowdhury led a group of members to the Well vociferously demanding that the government table the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on allocation of coal blocks.
“Why is the Prime Minister’s Office sitting on the CAG report,” Chowdhury asked while flashing a copy of a newspaper in the Well.
The group raised slogans like ‘3 years of UPA, more than 30 scams’, ‘Down with the UPA government’, ‘Is this the way a democracy functions’
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was seen asking about the issue from Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal. The minister was seen showing newspaper cuttings of the report on government extending “undue benefits” to private entities in connection with coal block allocation.
