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Thursday, Nov 30, 2006
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Uproar in Parliament over Shibu Soren issue

Special Correspondent

Opposition parties seek apology and explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

L. K. Advani

NEW DELHI: Uproarious scenes were witnessed in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday as the Opposition raised the issue of conviction of Coal Minister Shibu Soren in a murder case, demanding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explain why he had been re-inducted in the Cabinet.

Pandemonium broke out when the Lok Sabha met as the Opposition members, particularly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sought suspension of question hour to take up the issue that was "unprecedented in the history of the country." They sought an apology and explanation from the Prime Minister.

Raising the matter when the House re-assembled after the first adjournment during question hour, Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani said the Government did not realise that it was doing a great harm to the Indian polity. "We had heard of criminalisation of politics but we are now seeing criminalisation of the Council of Ministers," he said, while agreeing that choosing Ministers was the Prime Minister's prerogative. However, the Prime Minister would have known that an enquiry was on against Mr. Soren.

Sharp response

This evoked a sharp response from the Treasury benches with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi pointing out that by seeking Mr. Soren's resignation Dr. Singh showed how transparent the Government was, unlike the Opposition which tried to shield its chargesheeted members holding high posts. He said the chargesheeted members had no moral right to point the finger at others.

Responding to CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta, who said the devil should not quote scripture, and to Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M), who pointed out that the demolition of the Babri Masjid resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent people, Mr. Advani said he was proud to be associated with the "Ram Janmabhoomi movement" though he was apologetic about the demolition of the structure.

The word "movement" evoked a sharp response from the Treasury benches, leading to absolute chaos. Following this, the House was adjourned once again.

`An unusual situation'

In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh said an unusual situation developed with the conviction of a serving member of the Union Cabinet in a murder case.

Mr. Singh said the Prime Minister should explain to the House the circumstances under which Mr. Soren was re-inducted though he was facing grave charges in the case of murder of his former secretary.

Mr. Singh said that according to the CBI charge sheet, the former secretary was murdered over a dispute in sharing bribery money. "This is a serious matter and we demand an explanation from the Prime Minister." His demand drew loud protests from the Congress members and soon the entire House was drowned in the din as the BJP members burst into sloganeering.

Repeated pleas by the Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to let question hour proceed cut no ice with the BJP members, who were vociferous demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister.

The uproar and slogan shouting, with nearly half a dozen BJP members trooping into the well, went on for nearly half-hour.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the Prime Minister had asked Mr. Soren to resign and the resignation was accepted. He said if the Opposition wanted a discussion on the issue of chargesheeted Union Ministers, he was ready for it.

As the din refused to die down, the Chairman adjourned the House till noon but the scene was no different when the House reassembled.

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