The Hindu : Opposition holds up interim Railway budget presentation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 31, 2004

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National

Opposition holds up interim Railway budget presentation

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 30. The presentation of the interim Railway budget was held up for a few minutes as the Opposition staged a walkout, protesting the Chair's "failure" to mention the name of Mahatma Gandhi in the obituary references to the freedom fighters.

When the House Assembled the Opposition members were on their feet protesting the omission. Priyo Ranjan Dasmunsi (Congress) said that it was unimaginable that Parliament should omit the father of the nation's name. All the other Opposition parties picked up the refrain, and several members stormed into the well of the House.

The Deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil, said that "there are not enough words to protest against the omission" and wondered how anybody could forget to mention the Mahatma's name. Mr. Basudeb Acharia of the CPI-M, Rashid Alvi (BSP) also protested the omission.

The Speaker clarified that the day was known as Martyrs' day because it happened to be the death anniversary of the Mahatma. He said he had only followed the procedure adopted for the last three years. Then he asked the Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, to proceed with the presentation.

As the Railway Minister stood up, some of the Opposition members moved to the well in front of the ruling benches. This prompted the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, to almost stand as guard in front of the Minister.

The agitated members argued with the Chair and after sometime Mr. Dasmunsi said that they were walking out.

Significantly, today the DMK MPs also took part in the protest. Former Prime Minister, Chandrashekhar, told the Chair that even if the same procedure had been followed in the past it would be in the fitness of things if the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was present in the House, clarified. Mr. Vajpayee did not respond and soon the Opposition MPs returned to listen to the Railway Minister's presentation.

Later, addressing the media outside the House, the BJP spokesman, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, deplored the Opposition's tactics. "Their behaviour was disgraceful, trying to prevent the Minister from presenting the interim budget is unheard of," he said.

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