The Hindu : Bihar MPs extract commitment on aid

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 13, 2003

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National

Bihar MPs extract commitment on aid

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 12. The Lok Sabha witnessed a rare sight today. MPs from Bihar put their party affiliation aside to force the Government to agree to their demand that the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, reply to their call-attention motion seeking a special financial package for the State.

Usually a fractious bunch, today the MPs from both the treasurary benches as well as the Opposition joined hands to prevent the Minister of State for Planning, Satyabrat Mukerjee, from replying to their call-attention motion. Their contention was that since the financial package was a policy matter they would only listen to the Prime Minister.

This is perhaps the first time that the House could not dispose of a call-attention motion. Repeated efforts by the Deputy Speaker, P.M. Sayeed, and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, failed to pacify the agitated members who included Prabhu Nath Singh (Samata Party), Devendra Prasad Yadav (JD-U), Ram Vilas Paswan (Lok Janshakti party) and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD). Ms. Swaraj's attempt to pacify the members by promising to consider requesting the Prime Minister to reply if they were dissatisfied with the Minister's reply failed to persuade the members.

The members made it clear that they would settle for nothing less than a reply from the Prime Minister. "You have to respect our sentiments. It is a question of existence (of Bihar)" they said. The turmoil in the House continued for nearly 30 minutes and order was restored only after Mr. Sayeed ruled that the motion would be taken up next week as per convenience of the Prime Minister.

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