Coalgate: Quit, BJP tells PM as government seeks debate

New Delhi: The Opposition managed to stall Parliament for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, creating a furore over coal blocks allocations and demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation.

While the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairperson appealed to the MPs to let the House function, the Opposition would have none of it.

Shouting slogans and chanting 'PM must resign', the MPs rushed to the well of the House, thus forcing the adjournment of the Houses repeatedly. The Houses were first adjourned soon after 11.00 am. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 11.30. The situation did not improve even after the Houses resumed, forcing the adjournment till 2.00 pm.

When the pandemonium continued even after 2.00 pm, Parliament was adjourned for the day.

Congress leaders sought cooperation from the Opposition in initiating a discussion in the Houses but a belligerent Opposition kept shouting slogans, demanding the PM's resignation.

Congress leaders such as Pawan Kumar Bansal, Ambika Soni, ally Farooq Abdullah argued that there was no question of resignation on part of the PM.

"The BJP has skeletons in its own cupboard. That is why it won't let the House run," said Bansal.

"PM will not resign. Why should he resign? Opposition must listen to the PM and allow discussion on the matter," said an angry Farooq Abdullah.

Ambika Soni asked, "If the PM resigns, then with whom will they discuss the issue?"

"There is no point in suspending the House. They should discuss the issue in the House and prove their claims through discussion in the House," she added.

Even though the BJP was leading the Opposition charge, its ally JDU said it did not favour the demand for the PM's resignation. JDU leader Sharad Yadav said his personal opinion was that discussion on CAG report should take place in the House. "But I am bound by the NDA decision too," he, however, added.

Meanwhile, BJP, which sought Congress ally Mamata Banerjee's support in demanding the PM's resignation, was flatly refused.

Mamata's party, the Trinamool Congress said it would not support the Opposition in its demand for the PM's resignation.

The government was firmly behind the PM, with Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal calling the Opposition's demand unconstitutional. "Demanding the Prime Minister's resignation over the CAG report on coal allocations is unconstitutional. The coal block commissioning is a complex process. It needs time. Accountability can be fixed only after proper debate," he said.

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