Emboldened by the Uttarakhand issue, opposition moves privilege motions in both the Houses
Exuding newfound confidence after Uttarakhand trust vote, the Congress on Tuesday launched multiple attacks on the ruling BJP in both the houses of Parliament.
Besides reviving the Gujarat State Power Corporation (GSPC) – KG Basin scam issue, Congress stepped up the attack on Prime Minister Modi for allegedly naming party president Sonia Gandhi in the AgustaWestland chopper deal scandal.
It moved privilege motions in both the Houses seeking that the PM substantiate what he said in an election rally in Kerala. Both privilege motions have so far not been accepted and are under consideration.
In Lok Sabha Congress MPs demanded that they be allowed to speak on the privilege notice, but their appeals were turned down by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. "The matter is still under my consideration. I will allow you to speak after I have taken a decision on the notice," said the Speaker.
During the first half of the day, Congress leaders including Moily, leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Ranveer Singh 'Bittu' took turns to speak on the privilege notice during the Zero Hour, but were barred by the speaker from doing so. Soon, they entered into the well of the House, raising slogans against the PM and asking the government to stop the politics of allegations. While their party president watched, the House continued to function.
In the Rajya Sabha the Congress refused to take up the Finance and Appropriation bills for discussion as planned. The Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill have already been passed by the Lok Sabha and are to be discussed and passed in the Rajya Sabha before being returned to the Lok Sabha.
Soon after the lunch break on Tuesday, Congress members started raising slogans against the central government over the Uttarakhand issue. Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the opposition from Congress asked BJP government to apologise over the issue.
Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi first tried to pacify agitating members but then provoked them again by saying that Congress must refrain from murder of democracy even as he urged the chair to take up discussion despite the ensuing pandemonium.
Members of JD(U) and SP said also asked for the bills to be deferred to Wednesday as the House was not in order. After frequent disruptions leading to two adjournments, deputy chairman P J Kurien finally agreed to defer the bills for discussion on Wednesday.
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