"House has a report. House is free to discuss it and take a decision."
A day after Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari accepted resignation of Vijay Mallya, members in the Upper House asked about the status of recommendation of Ethics Committee expelling him for not paying loans.
Raising the issue, Naresh Agrawal (SP) said the Ethics Committee on Wednesday presented its report and the Chairman in the evening accepted the resignation of Mallya.
"When Ethics Committee report came to the House, did the Chairman have powers to accept the resignation? Then what is the status of the Committee report? What value is it of now," he asked.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the report presented is the property of the House and it was free to discuss or debate it.
The Chairman, he said, "acted according to the rules and as per Constitution. That we cannot question here." "House has a report. House is free to discuss it. House is free to take a decision on it," he said.
Agrawal asked what was the validity of the report after the Chairman has accepted Mallya's resignation.
Kurien said that gentleman has resigned and should the House discuss it?
A BJP member too asked about the relevance of the report after the Chairman has accepted the resignation.
Jairam Ramesh (Cong) wanted to know when the discussion will take place on Gujarat State Petroleum Corp's alleged scam of Rs 20,000 crore in KG Basin.
He said the Gujarat company's scam was based on a real CAG report unlike the "mythical" scam based on "bogus documents" raised by Subramanian Swamy.
He went on to demand that the House should not adjourn sine dine before the GSPC issue is discussed.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi quoted from Constituion to say CAG reports on state affairs are tabled in state assemblies and Public Accounts Committee of the states go into it and the Parliament does not discuss them.
However, the government has left it to the Chairman to decide on the notice for discussion given by Congress members, he said, adding "Whatever decision he takes will be acceptable to us."
Anand Sharma (Cong) said it was not a state subject as financial institutions who had loaned money to GSPC are involved and accused the government of "running away from a discussion."
Kurien said he will convey to the Chairman the views of the House seeking a decision on the notice.
Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said there should be discussion on the subject this week.
K C Tyagi (JDU) said the business advisory committee (BAC) had accepted two short duration discussions - one on the AgustaWestland controversy and the other on KG basin scam.
Now that discussion on AgustaWestland issue has taken place, the one on KG basin controversy should also take place, he said.
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