Manmohan fails to placate BJP leaders

Updated - November 16, 2021 09:18 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s bid to end the row over the missing coal files and persuade senior BJP leaders to cooperate in the passage of key pending Bills does not appear to have made any headway.

At a late-night meeting with three top BJP leaders on Tuesday, Dr. Singh sought to explain the government’s position on the missing files within the constraints of the fact that the matter is sub judice. The Supreme Court is monitoring the probe into Coalgate.

There was a sense of urgency in Dr. Singh’s initiative as the extended monsoon session is to end on Friday and the Prime Minister would return to India after the conclusion of the G-20 Summit at St. Petersburg on Saturday.

According to sources, there was no commitment by the BJP leaders to Dr. Singh’s appeal. The party is expected to take a position before Parliament is scheduled to recommence at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

The BJP, which, along with some other Opposition parties, was not satisfied with Dr. Singh’s statement in both Houses on the missing coal files on Tuesday, did not allow Parliament to function for the rest of the day.

The principal opposition party is so furious over a deliberate attempt not to allow senior Opposition leaders to seek greater clarity from the Prime Minister on his statement that it stayed away from a meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar in the afternoon.

It is believed that the Prime Minister personally called BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley to sort out the issue. Earlier in the day, the BJP led the Opposition attack in Parliament and expressed dissatisfaction over Dr. Singh’s statement on missing files saying their queries had not been answered and the steps taken to recover the same had not been listed.

“All norms were broken in the Lok Sabha. The Leader of the Opposition was insulted when she was not permitted to speak. Her mike was muted. Even Mr. Advani, who rarely raises his hand to speak, was not allowed,” said BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain at a news conference.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.