Balayogi's advice works

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 1. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Mr. G.M.C. Balayogi, did some plain- speaking this morning strongly disapproving of the manner in which members have been rushing to the well of the House, creating disorder and disrupting proceedings.

The result was an agreement between the Government and the Opposition on the need for ``regular consultations'' between the two sides each morning before the House meets. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, it was decided, would make himself available each morning to the Opposition leaders who may wish to discuss with him the issues they would like to raise, and this could be done in the presence of the Speaker, if necessary.

It was at a meeting of party leaders called by Mr. Balayogi today that he asked them to tell him frankly how long they wanted to continue running Parliament in this ``disorderly fashion''. Since the start of the monsoon session, neither the Government had been able to conduct business nor the Opposition make its points forcefully to pin the Government down on issues of public importance, but if the House had functioned properly, the Opposition could have its say without getting in the way of Government business being taken up. His point was that not only the treasury benches, but the Opposition would also gain from a more orderly conduct of Parliament.

It was Mr. Somnath Chatterjee (CPI-M) who apparently said the fractured polity and growing social tensions were reflected in the impasse in Parliament. These were compounded by ``inadequate interaction'' between the Government and the Opposition, for which he squarely blamed the ruling parties, a point on which Congress leaders, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia and Mr. Priyaranjan Das Munshi, fully agreed with Mr. Chatterjee.

Ms. Mayawati (BSP) reportedly pointed out that often even her party with 15 MPs was denied an opportunity to speak on issues, as it had happened on the debate on Manipur.

All along, the Speaker stressed that he was not talking about one day or one issue but the daily functioning of Parliament through the session and the next session. He especially disapproved of the manner in which parties often rushed to the well of the House without even bothering to explain the issue they wanted to raise.

The result was, there was no adjournment in the Lok Sabha today.

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