NEW DELHI: The Mumbai blasts dominated Parliament proceedings on Tuesday with the Lok Sabha taking up an adjournment motion on the issue despite opposition from the Government. Proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were adjourned for a while as Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat refused to entertain a Shiv Sena demand for suspension of Question Hour.

In the Lok Sabha, the Government opposed the motion on the premise that it went against the very grain of the fortitude with which the metropolis refused to allow the terror attacks to cripple life. However, with Speaker Somnath Chatterjee admitting the motion, the ensuing discussion saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) press for revival of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) while the Government accused the Opposition of using the terrorist attack to indulge in partisan politics.

Initiating the discussion, Leader of the Opposition L. K. Advani was appreciative of the Prime Minister's response to the Mumbai blasts but criticised the Government's refusal to bring back POTA. Reminding the Government that many countries had adopted special laws to deal with terrorism at the instance of the United Nations, he said a POTA-like law was needed to cut across jurisdictional restrictions. "We say POTA is anti-terror but you say POTA is anti-Muslim. Please do not communalise the war against terrorism," he added.

Mr. Advani's efforts to draw attention to the manner in which both the Congress and the Left in Kerala wooed 1998 Coimbatore blast accused Abdul Nasser Maudhany for votes resulted in a vociferous exchange of words and much of what transpired was struck off the records.

He also wanted the Prime Minister to spell out the Government's future course of action vis-à-vis Pakistan. Referring to a statement made by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri claiming that India had forwarded a proposal for the settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir issue, Mr. Advani said the House should be taken into confidence in view of Parliament's resolution stating that all of J&K was an integral part of India.

Intervening in the discussion, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi sought to remind the National Democratic Alliance that the Congress and its allies had stood by it after the Parliament attack despite some people thinking it was a good opportunity to nail the Government.

Stating that an adjournment motion amounted to bringing business to a standstill, he said it went against the spirit of Mumbai, which refused to succumb to terror.

Walkout by Shiv Sena

Earlier in the day, the Rajya Sabha witnessed a 40-minute adjournment and a walkout by Shiv Sena members demanding the suspension of Question Hour to discuss the blasts. Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi raised the issue at the start of proceedings but Mr. Shekhawat pointed out he had just received the notice and the House Business Advisory Committee had decided to take up the matter later.

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