The Hindu : Front Page : Speaker pulls up Shivraj Patil

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Friday, Aug 05, 2005

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Front Page

Speaker pulls up Shivraj Patil

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The United Progressive Alliance Government faced a major embarrassment in the Lok Sabha on Thursday when Speaker Somnath Chatterjee admonished the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, for his absence from the House when it was scheduled to take up a calling attention motion on the situation in Manipur.

Mr. Patil later tendered an apology to the Chair and the House. He said when he was the presiding officer, the calling attention motion used to come up after Zero Hour. However, Mr. Chatterjee said: "We hold you in high respect and [have] learnt many things from you. We feel sorry. This is something that should never be repeated. It gives a bad message... since you tendered apology... should not be repeated in future.''

V.K. Malhotra of the BJP, who moved the motion, protested that the written statement of the Home Minister to his calling attention was circulated barely a few minutes before it was taken up as against the practice of giving it in advance. The Speaker agreed with Mr. Malhotra's complaint.

Earlier, taking exception to the absence of the Home Minister, the Speaker adjourned the House for a brief while immediately after Question Hour. Parliamentary Affairs Minister B.K. Handique was seen making his way out of the House in a hurry after the Speaker pointed out the near empty Treasury benches.

Even before Mr. Malhotra and Ramji Lal Suman of Samajwadi Party tried to point out the anomaly, Mr. Chatterjee said he was adjourning the House for 10 minutes for the "presence of the Home Minister."

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