The solemnity of the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack was lost in the din of parliament on Thursday.
While the nation was in a sombre mood, opposition leader LK Advani and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee engaged in an ugly spat over the rehabilitation of 26/11 victims, with another BJP MP Anant Kumar playing the catalyst.
Advani highlighted the government’s callousness in completing rehabilitation. Backed by vociferous NDA members, he said of the 403 eligible victims, only 118 had been compensated. Of the 64 eligible, only 32 had received railway jobs, he said, as opposition benches shouted “shame, shame”.
“I suggest a special cell be formed in the home ministry to coordinate between the 12 agencies, including 8 of the state [Maharashtra] government, involved in relief,” he said, adding, “A situation should not arise where a widow will come to Delhi saying ‘I’ve not got compensation so far’.”
His overenthusiastic protégé Kumar insisted that Mukherjee make an immediate promise to the effect. When Kumar kept repeating his demand despite speaker Meira Kumar’s pleas to understand the sensitivity of the occasion, Mukherjee lost his cool and took the BJP to task.
“You are politicising the issue. Earlier also, you did it and were paid back... You will be again paid back,” he said, referring to the saffron party’s defeat in the recent general election.
Mukherjee made a pointed reference to Kumar, telling him to be seated. “I came to listen to the opposition leader not you [Kumar],” he said.
A shaken Kumar later said he could not fathom why Mukherjee targeted him.
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