Cong draws out plan to counter BJP aggression
23 Aug 2012 6:46 AM IST
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalled the functioning of Parliament for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the Congress came out strongly against the principle opposition party for skirting a discussion. The Congress alleged that the BJP feared that the role of its state governments would also come under the scanner.
However, the BJP remained firm on its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation on the coal allocation issue and insisted that the only way to end the present impasse in Parliament was for him to take responsibility for the Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss suggested by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Drawing a comparison between the 2G spectrum allocation scam and the coal allocation controversy, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said that while in the former case, Singh was politically and 'vicariously' responsible, in the latter he was directly involved.
The coal minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal countered the BJP aggression on Wednesday. He ruled out Singh's resignation and said, 'There has been stability in the country because of PM’s foresight and good economic sense. The country has progressed in spite of the global economic slowdown.'
The Congress pressed in the services of other ministers as well to defend the prime minister. The human resource development minister Kapil Sibal rejected allegations levied by the BJP on Singh and instead blamed the opposition-ruled states for the coal allocation policy. He said, 'We are not in the government in Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. All chief ministers were in agreement and said that coal blocks should not be auctioned. This should be investigated.'
The BJP countered this charge by saying that coal came under the centre's list and states had no role to play in the issue.
However, the BJP looked isolated on the issue of boycotting Parliament. Its ally Janata Dal (United) favoured a discussion in Parliament on the CAG reports. Its leader Sharad Yadav said that if all opposition parties agreed in stalling Parliament, it would have had better effect. He talked to leaders of the Left parties, Telagu Desam Party, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, who, he said, favoured discussions instead of disruptions. He said, 'The boycot could have been successful if all parties agreed to it but since they are not, we should not go for it.'
BJP WALKS OUT OF 2G JPC MEET
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) adopted a two-pronged strategy to corner the government on Wednesday. While, on the one hand, it stalled Parliament on the coal block auction issue, on the other, it walked out of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G scam. Its members in the JPC alleged that the Congress members used unparliamentary language against them. Apart from this, the BJP demanded calling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the finance minister P Chidambaram for deposition on the 2G spectrum scam.
However, the BJP ally Janata Dal (United) did not follow it in walking out of the JPC. The BJP members Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Dharmendra Pradhan and Ravi Shankar Prasad staged the walkout.
'We walked out of the meeting after Congress members used foul language when we demanded settling the issue of list of witness, which has been pending for eight weeks now. We walked out today, we will take a call on resignation later,' said Sinha.
The Congress however accused the BJP of pre-meditated game plan to walk out the meeting. 'If they say I used any foul language, I reject it. There was discussion about who should be called and who should not be called. But for political gains and to further their political ambitions if they are going to call anybody they feel like, it will not be allowed.' said the Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari, who is also a member of the JPC.
However, the BJP remained firm on its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation on the coal allocation issue and insisted that the only way to end the present impasse in Parliament was for him to take responsibility for the Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss suggested by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Drawing a comparison between the 2G spectrum allocation scam and the coal allocation controversy, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said that while in the former case, Singh was politically and 'vicariously' responsible, in the latter he was directly involved.
The coal minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal countered the BJP aggression on Wednesday. He ruled out Singh's resignation and said, 'There has been stability in the country because of PM’s foresight and good economic sense. The country has progressed in spite of the global economic slowdown.'
The Congress pressed in the services of other ministers as well to defend the prime minister. The human resource development minister Kapil Sibal rejected allegations levied by the BJP on Singh and instead blamed the opposition-ruled states for the coal allocation policy. He said, 'We are not in the government in Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. All chief ministers were in agreement and said that coal blocks should not be auctioned. This should be investigated.'
The BJP countered this charge by saying that coal came under the centre's list and states had no role to play in the issue.
However, the BJP looked isolated on the issue of boycotting Parliament. Its ally Janata Dal (United) favoured a discussion in Parliament on the CAG reports. Its leader Sharad Yadav said that if all opposition parties agreed in stalling Parliament, it would have had better effect. He talked to leaders of the Left parties, Telagu Desam Party, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, who, he said, favoured discussions instead of disruptions. He said, 'The boycot could have been successful if all parties agreed to it but since they are not, we should not go for it.'
BJP WALKS OUT OF 2G JPC MEET
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) adopted a two-pronged strategy to corner the government on Wednesday. While, on the one hand, it stalled Parliament on the coal block auction issue, on the other, it walked out of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G scam. Its members in the JPC alleged that the Congress members used unparliamentary language against them. Apart from this, the BJP demanded calling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the finance minister P Chidambaram for deposition on the 2G spectrum scam.
However, the BJP ally Janata Dal (United) did not follow it in walking out of the JPC. The BJP members Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Dharmendra Pradhan and Ravi Shankar Prasad staged the walkout.
'We walked out of the meeting after Congress members used foul language when we demanded settling the issue of list of witness, which has been pending for eight weeks now. We walked out today, we will take a call on resignation later,' said Sinha.
The Congress however accused the BJP of pre-meditated game plan to walk out the meeting. 'If they say I used any foul language, I reject it. There was discussion about who should be called and who should not be called. But for political gains and to further their political ambitions if they are going to call anybody they feel like, it will not be allowed.' said the Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari, who is also a member of the JPC.
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