Govt rules out JPC on N-deal as NDA, Third Front stall Par

NEW DELHI: Agitated over the formation of a committee between the UPA and its Left allies over Indo-US nuclear deal, Opposition NDA and the Third Front on Friday stalled proceedings in both Houses of Parliament and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee, which was rejected by the government.
   
BJP moved a privilege motion in the Lok Sabha against the government for announcing the formation of the committee outside Parliament when it is in session.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee admitted the notice for the motion given by Deputy Leader of Opposition V K Malhotra and said he would take a decision on it.

Rejecting the contention of NDA and the Third Front which disrupted the proceedings as soon as the House met, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the committee did not have any official status and was an 'internal arrangement' between the UPA and its allies.

Had the government constituted any committee, it would have had representatives of all the parties, the Leader of the House emphasised amid slogan-shouting by opposition members criticising the decision.

Ruling out formation of JPC to study the Indo-US nuclear deal as demanded by the NDA and Third Front, Mukherjee said it was not required as there was no precedence of any international agreement having been subjected to Parliament's 'scrutiny'.

The members from NDA and Third Front were unrelenting and continued shouting slogans like the government had 'deceived the nation'. Sensing the mood, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon.

Similar scenes were witnessed in Rajya Sabha also with the NDA and Third Front members demanding formation of JPC. Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the House till noon.

Amid clashes between Opposition and ruling members, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi said in the Lok Sabha that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already made a statement on the nuclear deal and a debate would be held on the issue on the basis of the statement.

On behalf of the Prime Minister, he 'promised' that Leader of the Opposition L K Advani would be invited before the debate to convey how things would shape up.

Agreeing that the nuclear deal issue was a "property of the House", he said, however, that setting up of the committee between UPA and Left parties was a matter strictly between the coalition partners.

"If we (coalition partners) sit together and discuss, how does it matter to BJP, I don't understand," Dasmunsi said.

Prabunath Singh of JD(U) said the nuclear deal was a national issue and "not a family matter" between government and Left parties.

Insisting that announcement of the committee outside Parliament during the session was an "insult" to the House, he demanded formation of the JPC to study the deal.

Malhotra wondered whether the decision to form the committee would be revoked.

Ramji Lal Suman of Samajwadi Party also criticised the announcement of formation of the committee and demanded formation of JPC.
   
Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD) and Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena) also spoke on similar lines.

Mukherjee said the Constitution could not be subverted because of slogan-shouting by the Opposition.

In the Rajya Sabha also, members of NDA and Third Front were on their feet as soon as the House met, demanding JPC to go into various aspects of nuclear deal.

The NDA members were led by Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Shushma Swaraj while the Third Front's protest was led by Amar Singh.

They decried announcement of formation of the UPA-Left committee on the issue outside Parliament, with some members suggesting that such a move was an "insult" to the House.
    
Though the NDA and Third Front were demanding JPC, their protest was not coordinated.

Ansari repeatedly asked for Question Hour to be taken up but his pleas went unheeded.

NDA and Third Front members then trooped into the well of the House, leading to its adjournment till 1200 noon.