NEW DELHI: The Opposition came under attack from the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for stalling Parliament on Monday. They charged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Opposition with "lowering the dignity of and prestige of the institution" and unwillingness to discuss issues of importance.

"They (Opposition) are lowering the dignity and prestige of Parliament and want to use (the Volcker) issue as a distraction from the problems the BJP is facing," Congress spokesperson, Anand Sharma said.

In an attempt to find a way out of the standoff, United Progressive Alliance partners and supporting Left parties met on Monday and decided to hold an all-party meeting. Accusing the Opposition of seeking to pre-empt and undermine the authority of Justice Pathak inquiry, the Congress said the UPA was firm in getting to the root of the issue and never before has any Government acted as swiftly as the UPA Government did.

He said the BJP attempting to take a moral high ground on the issue should be reminded of its own track record.

He said during the tenure of the National Democratic Alliance, the probe ordered by the then Government into the Tehelka tapes took a different turn when George Fernandes was taken back after he quit even while the Commission of Inquiry was still at it.

On the decision to drop Union Minister Natwar Singh from the Congress Steering Committee, Mr. Sharma said the resolution had stated that considering the developments in recent weeks and the prevalent situation, it was the Steering Committee's view that on the grounds of propriety his continuation at this stage had become untenable.

Also it was for the Prime Minister to take a view.

On the other hand, the CPI (M) said while it was not going to demand that Mr. Natwar Singh step down, the party wants the inquiry authority to probe all those who benefited in the Iraqi Oil-for-Food contracts.

The CPI (M) Rajya Sabha leader, Nilotpal Basu said he wondered as to why the BJP was not talking about Reliance, which, he said, was one of the biggest beneficiaries among the non-contractual companies named in the Volcker Report.

Addressing a press conference along with party colleagues, Basudeb Acharia and Rupchand Pal, the CPI (M) leader said the BJP's anxiety over the "whisking away" of Aneil Mathrani on his return to India from Croatia could not be understood.

Mr. Basu said while the BJP was trying to blame the Congress on the basis of a purported interview of Mr. Mathrani, which the latter denied, the party did not accept articles written by Mohan Guruswamy, a former aide of then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, that contained several allegations.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail