Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted for the second day on Tuesday, with the Samajwadi Party continuing its opposition to the bill on reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in job promotions by preventing legislation being taken up for consideration and passed in the Rajya Sabha.
The Bahujan Samaj Party is keen on getting the Constitution (117thAmendment) Bill, 2012 passed in this session.
No significant business was conducted in both Houses, as both the parties that had bailed out the government last week when the issue of allowing foreign direct investment in retail trade was voted in Parliament, took opposite views on the Bill.
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In the Rajya Sabha, despite repeated requests from the Chair, unrelenting SP members asked the government to withdraw the Bill. On the issue of Wal-Mart, the Opposition demanded a time-bound judicial probe into reports that the U.S. company had paid money to gain access into Indian markets even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the government “views the reports [on Wal-Mart] with utmost concern” and would not hesitate to order a probe to unravel facts of the matter. “We have no hesitation in having an inquiry to get to the facts of the matter.’’ He promised to announce further steps in the House later in the day.
Question hour was disrupted with the BJP demanding a time-bound probe by a joint parliamentary committee. The Janata Dal (United), the AIADMK, the Trinamool Congress, the RJD and the CPI supported it, while the SP sought a judicial inquiry, contending that the country had been put to shame.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said the government should order a joint parliamentary committee probe or a judicial inquiry.
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