Oppn targets govt over call drops in Lok Sabha

A combined Opposition on Wednesday targeted the government on the issue of call drops saying the problem continued unabated despite efforts, as the government maintained that “stringent measures” have been put in place to check the problem at the earliest.

Responding to a volley of questions in the Lok Sabha, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad nearly 65,000 BTS (Base Transceiver Stations) have been set up across country, including Delhi, in four months time.

The Minister said that during Question Hour that telecom regulator TRAI has also proposed “punitive provisions” which have been challenged in the courts.

Responding to a question on poor 3G services in Parliament House complex, he said while extending facilities in and around the complex, the heritage nature of the main building has to be kept in mind, along with security considerations.

Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded that the Haryana government be dismissed, Assembly dissolved and fresh election held as the BJP dispensation does not have the right to stay in office in the wake of the Jat quota agitation that has left several people dead and damaged properties worth Rs 20,000 crore.

“They do not have the right to stay in office even for five minutes in the wake of the incidents. The government should be dismissed. The Assembly should be dissolved and fresh elections ordered,” Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said.