Climate of unity in Rajya Sabha as opposition walks out

Even as the global climate change summit got under way in Copenhagen on Monday, the opposition in Rajya Sabha launched a concerted attack on the government for “totally altering” the country’s position on the issue.

Not satisfied with environment minister Jairam Ramesh’s reply that “there is no compromise on India’s interest”, the BJP, CPI, CPI(M), SP and the AIADMK staged a walkout.

Leader of opposition Arun Jaitley said unilaterally announcing a cut of 20-25% in emission intensity before the summit was a bad move. “We have opened all our cards. Our disclosure has become a baseline for further negotiations. Even our negotiators appear to be sulking,” he said.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the “suspicion is that it is happening under pressure”. He said this was evident from the White House statement of December 4 that China and India had set a target to reduce carbon intensity.

Yechury, who will be part of the parliamentary delegation to the summit, wondered whether prime minister (PM) Manmohan Singh’s sudden decision to travel to Copenhagen was also under US pressure. “We want clarification from the government. The minister [Ramesh] promised specific things which vary from the PM’s assurances,” he said.