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Saturday, Mar 10, 2007
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BJP to write to Speaker on Subba's nationality

Special Correspondent

Privilege notice against Oram?

NEW DELHI: After having demanded a meeting on the issue of nationality of Congress MP M.K. Subba, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday is believed to have said it was not prepared to discuss the matter with the Speaker. It would write to him in detail later.

The Subba affair has resulted in an exchange of some unpleasant words over the last two days in the Lok Sabha between BJP MPs Jual Oram and V.K. Malhotra and Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who had expunged alleged derogatory remarks made against the Chair. However, it is believed that Congress MP Devendra Prasad Yadav has given a privilege notice against Mr. Oram for allegedly denigrating the Chair. He is reported to have pleaded that although what they had said was expunged, the "offensive" remarks attributing motives to the Chair had been telecast live and heard throughout the country.

It is learnt that the Speaker is yet to take a decision on the notice.

On the request of the BJP that the Subba matter be discussed, the issue was raised at a meeting called by the Speaker on Friday morning. BJP's deputy leader V.K. Malhotra is reported to have said that he would write to the Speaker in detail, while Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi took the plea that it was for the Chair to decide whether the matter should be discussed in the House or not.

However, the Government's view was that the subject was before the Supreme Court and it was there that the nationality issue should be decided before Parliament takes it up.

The BJP's grouse is that while Parliament was quick to set up a committee to examine the "cash-for-questions" scandal following a sting operation — and later the MPs were disqualified — the Congress had been slow to react to the Subba affair. To that extent the BJP has charged the Congress with playing partisan politics.

On the other hand, the ruling party has argued that the "cash-for-questions" scandal had shown some MPs to be corrupt and urgent action was needed to save the dignity of Parliament.

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