Pranab Mukherjee blames 'impatient' BJP for Parliament disruptions

Concerned over frequent disruptions of Parliament, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday blamed a "little impatient" BJP for creating ruckus, contending the image of the country is not affected by corruption alone, but also by how parties behave in a democracy.

Remarking the principal opposition was getting a "little impatient", he told the Rajya Sabha parliamentary democracy is essentially on how political parties behave, act and react.

"Therefore, if the image of the country has been affected, do not think merely corruption... Yes, it is one of the reasons, but if the sovereign Legislature cannot function, fails to discharge its responsibility of debating, discussing, even a new practice of disruption is developed, don't you think that it affects?" he posed.

Mukherjee, also leader of the Lok Sabha and the government's chief trouble shooter in Parliament said he was "noticing the principal Opposition party becoming a little impatient."

"That is why, it (BJP) is saying to us, 'Go! You will be thrown out' So what? In the Parliamentary democracy, the rate of mortality is always high. Therefore, it is in the very nature of the democracy that the people have an option of bringing in a change," he added.

After three elections in 1996, 1998 and 1999, he said frequent elections could be avoided not by any law, but because of the behaviour of the political parties.

"We are the actors. How we act, how we behave, parliamentary democracy is essentially dependent on it," he said.

Mukherjee admitted in the 13th Lok Sabha, when Congress was in opposition "we did not do any good job, but that does not mean you will exactly follow the same because you claim yourselves you are a different party, you are different from others."

The remarks of Mukherjee came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress top brass reviewed the situation in Parliament following frequent logjams.

Since Monsoon session began on August 1, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha could work only on half of the working days as the proceedings were affected by opposition uproar on one issue or another.

Government managers are worried as there are over 30 official bills needed to be passed, including key economic legislation.