An angry opposition has let it be known that it wants nothing less than a clarification from prime minister Manmohan Singh and a probe on the phone-tapping issue.
The opposition is likely to create a ruckus in parliament on Monday over the phone-tapping controversy.
An angry opposition has let it be known that it wants nothing less than a clarification from prime minister Manmohan Singh and a probe on the phone-tapping issue. The timing of this controversy is particularly frustrating for the government, because it expects cooperation from the House when the crucial Finance Bill comes up for voting on Tuesday.
The government has reasons to be worried. The dust over the cricket controversy is yet to settle down and the opposition is demanding the resignation of two Union ministers connected with the BCCI and the Indian Premier League.
Now, the phone-tapping controversy has the potential to become a pivot for opposition unity. BJP veteran LK Advani has already drawn parallels between the Emergency and the present incident, while other opposition leaders have raised their pitch against the “illegal” move by the government. Given this, the ruling dispensation would be in for a tough time during the remaining period of the ongoing budget session.
The BJP has said that they would demand the suspension of Question Hour in both Houses. “We will demand suspension of Question Hour and a joint parliamentary probe into the matter,” party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said. His description that phone-tapping was turning out to be the biggest scandal of UPA-II reflects the mood of the opposition.
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, whose name figures in the list of leaders whose phones were tapped, has described it as “illegal and intolerable”. The Left parties were also working out a strategy to embarrass the government.
The Congress tried to come clean on the controversy by offering that the government issue a clarification in “good time”. Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi tried to take the battle to the opposition camp when he derided their attempts at disrupting parliament. “Disruption just for the sake of making a point is against parliamentary norms,” Singhvi said.
Given the mood in the opposition camp, Singhvi’s arguments are unlikely to convince the UPA’s rivals.
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