BJP today took a critical view of the Prime Minister’s decision to go on a ten-day long foreign tour when the winter session of Parliament is on and alleged it amounted to showing disrespect to the legislative body.
“Parliamentary etiquette demands that the Prime Minister should plan his foreign visits in a manner that it does not clash with a Parliament session,” Deputy Leader of BJP in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leaving for the US on November 21. From Washington, he will leave for the Port-of-Spain on November 26, Thanksgiving Day, to attend a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). He will return to New Delhi on November 30.
Swaraj alleged the absence of the Prime Minister when the winter session is on, in a way showed disrespect to Parliament. However, the senior BJP leader added that in some circumstances, like attending an international summit, the Prime Minister would have little option but to go on a foreign visit.
BJP has also criticised the removal of State Advisory Price (SAP) mechanism by the new ordinance despite a Supreme Court order supporting it. Swaraj said the state governments, under the SAP mechanism, fixed prices keeping local disadvantages and issues faced by farmers in mind.
She said this move would further aggravate the issue as it had come at a time when the harassed farmers were committing suicide. The senior BJP leader said imposition of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) was “detrimental to the federal structure and interest of farmers“. “The government should have called a meeting of Chief Ministers before removing SAP and imposing FRP,” she said.
The sugarcane price issue and other issues to be raised by the BJP-led NDA was discussed in a meeting, under the chairpersonship of L K Advani, of its floor leaders in both Houses.
Swaraj said NDA would demand separate debates on price rise, mistreatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka, climate change, border violations by China and WTO. Scams including the one involving former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, Spectrum allocation would also be brought up.
BJP is demanding that the government send a delegation of MPs to Sri Lanka to review the condition of Tamils there.
