The Hindu : Front Page : Opposition unrelenting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004

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Opposition unrelenting

By Our New Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI, JULY 5. In an effort to end the deadlock in Parliament, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, today talked to the chairman of the National Democratic Alliance, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the Leader of Opposition, L.K. Advani, this morning while NDA leaders postponed till tomorrow a final decision on their strategy. But they indicated that a "boycott' of the Railway Budget presentation is likely.

Talking to reporters at an investiture ceremony, Dr. Singh said he had repeated his earlier request to Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Advani that "regardless of the differences (between the Government and the Opposition), the House should function normally and all issues should be discussed in a cordial atmosphere.''

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, indicated the Government's readiness for a discussion "on any subject in any form under the rules.'' Referring to the disruption of Parliament by the Opposition on the issue of "tainted'' Ministers, Mr. Azad said stalling of Parliament was not helping the Government or the Opposition.

Earlier in the day, after a meeting of the NDA leaders this morning, there was no sign of change in their determination to "boycott'' the presentation of the Railway Budget tomorrow.

The BJP is of the view that the Government is not helping to create the right atmosphere for cooperation. Even as the controversy over the induction of "tainted'' Ministers was yet to be addressed, the Government sacked four Governors appointed by the Vajpayee regime, and, as if that was not enough, the Human Resource Development Minister, Arjun Singh, failed to invite the BJP to a convention to discuss the problems faced by the minorities in education and other fields, the BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, V. K. Malhotra, said today.

Mr. Malhotra indicated that "boycott' of the Railway Budget would be the "minimum'' protest action that the NDA would approve tomorrow. But there was also an indication from some party MPs that the NDA might take part in the debate on the Railway Budget, whenever that takes place, as many MPs were keen on focussing the attention on the problems faced by the people in relation to this largest public utility.

There was a hint from sources in the BJP that the NDA may decide to do what the Congress and the Left parties had done to the former Defence Minister, George Fernandes. He was not asked any questions and they refused to listen to him whenever he got up to speak in Parliament but allowed Parliament to function at other times.

Immediately after the adjournment of both Houses of Parliament today, the Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, called a meeting of the party leaders once again in an attempt to resolve the issue but to no avail. When Mr. Malhotra was asked whether the BJP would respond to the Congress offer of a debate on the subject of "tainted'' Ministers, Mr. Malhotra said: "They did not allow even the Leader of the Opposition to speak.'' He was referring to the first brief session of Parliament when the trouble erupted as the Prime Minister began introducing his Ministers.

Mr. Malhotra told the press that the BJP could not accept Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav as Minister. He had resigned as the Bihar Chief Minister after he was named an accused in the fodder scandal.

Another Minister in the present Government had been dropped by the Bihar Chief Minister, Rabri Devi, he said.

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