New Delhi: A war of words broke out between the Congress and the opposition over the National Food Security Bill that the government tried its best to debate in the Lok Sabha and get passed on Monday. The opposition continued to disrupt the house over the coal blocks allocation issue as Food Minister KV Thomas moved the bill, saying it was a key UPA legislation that would give the right to subsidised grain to around 67 per cent of the population.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it would not allow any important bill to be passed amidst the din. "The way the government tried to pass the Food Security Bill today is an attempt to divert attention from the corruption of their ministers," Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj told reporters.
"We want a debate on important bills like the Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill. But when the situation in parliament is so tense that there is a demand for the resignation of the prime minister and other ministers, trying to get the bill passed in the din in condemnable," she added.
"If the government tries to pass the bills in the din, the opposition will protest," she added. Reacting to the opposition charges, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath asked the BJP not to "lecture" the Congress on corruption and said Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar would not resign....
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04:05 AM, May 07, 2013
