Coalgate: Parliament stalled; SP, Left seek probe

New Delhi: The issue of the CAG report on coal block allocation rocked Parliament for the seventh successive day on Thursday with the BJP persisting with its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation but the government pushed through two bills in the Lok Sabha.

Uproarious scenes were witnessed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha after they assembled for the day, with BJP members storming the Well shouting slogans against the Prime Minister and the Congress. And finally, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day again after uproar over coal block allocation issue.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties, including the Left, TDP and Samajwadi Party, came together on Thursday against continued deadlock in both the Houses, demanding normalcy and a probe into the coal block allocation issue by a sitting Supreme Court judge. They also decided to seek support from non-Bharatiya Janata Party and non-Congress parties to help Parliament function.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday attacked the BJP, saying some people are politicising issues to stall Parliament.

“Our party along with CPI, CPI(M) and TDP today decided to stage dharna in front of Parliament tomorrow to demand an inquiry into the coal block allocation scam by a sitting Supreme Court judge," SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said.

"We are talking to other parties also. We want there should be a probe into it and guilty should be punished," he said after a meeting with CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia, CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta and TDP's Nama Nageshwar Rao.

On Prime Minister's statement on coal block allocation issue and the continued deadlock in Parliament, the SP chief said, "We want Parliament to function so that it can debate these important issues."

Other Opposition parties like BJD and even NDA partners, JD(U) and Akali Dal, were also opposed to disruption of proceedings and have been demanding debate on the CAG report into the coal block allocation and other business

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday attacked the BJP, saying some people are politicising issues to stall Parliament. “If there is discussion in Parliament, facts will be separated from fiction,” Sonia said.

What happened in Parliament today:

In both Houses, members of NDA allies Shiv Sena and SAD were on their feet but they did not go into the Well while JD-U members remained seated.

The slogan shouting by the BJP was countered by Congress members, who hailed the Prime Minister.

In the Rajya Sabha, Congress member from Jharkhand Pradip Balmuchu led the charge shouting slogans against the BJP and taunting the Opposition party for boycotting Parliament.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after the first adjournment with Speaker Meira Kumar taking up two legislations - Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill.

In the din, the two bills were passed by voice vote without any discussion after Minister of State for Chemicals Srikant Jena and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad moved them.

In the Rajya Sabha, BJP members, who had by then trooped into the Well, shouted "Beimano Ki Sarkar Nahin Chalegi (the government of the dishonest will not be allowed)."

Congress members retorted saying "BJP Ki Goondagardi Nahin Chalegi (the hooliganism of the BJP won't be allowed)."

In the din, the House took up a calling attention motion on the situation arising out of casualties during clinical trial in the country. Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Mukul Roy laid a statement on it.

As the din continued, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien adjourned the House till 2 PM.

A report of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance could not be laid in the Upper House as BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, whose name was listed for it, refused to do so while the other member - Mahendra Prasad -was not present.

In the Lok Sabha, when the Speaker took up the Question Hour nothing could be heard as BJP members shouted slogans like 'Pradhan Mantri Istifa do' (Prime Minister, quit) and 'koyele ki dalali hai, poori Congress kaali hai' (commission in coal, entire Congress is blackened)'. They were countered by Congress members who chanted 'Pradhan Mantri Zindabad'.

AIADMK and DMK members were heard raising slogans against the government for training Sri Lankan forces at airbases in India. AIADMK members even carried placards and were in the aisle protesting the move.

With members unrelenting, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon.

In Rajya Sabha, BJP members started shouting "coal, coal, coal..." as soon as Chairman Hamid Ansari took up the first listed question of the day.

BJP-led NDA members shouted slogans demanding resignation of the Prime Minister.

All the while, ruling Congress members countered the slogan shouting by praising the Prime Minister.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy, against whose name the first question of the day on time limit for action against corrupt officials was listed, said he was prepared to reply.

"It is a very important question. I am ready to answer...people of this country should know the action being taken," he said amid slogan shouting.

For a few minutes Ansari tried to conduct the proceedings, asking members to raise supplementaries. But, as the slogan shouting BJP members started coming to the Well, he adjourned the House till noon.

When the Rajya Sabha reassembled at 2 PM, BJP members again trooped into the Well and raised slogans against the government and the Prime Minister even as Kurien asked them to maintain decorum and help take up the Whistleblowers Bill.

Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy's pleas to the opposition members to take up the important legislation also went unheeded.

Incidentally, only BJP members were seen raising slogans.

Amid din, Kurien adjourned the House for the day.

(With additional inputs from PTI)

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)