The Hindu : National : Speaker’s plea ignored

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Tuesday, Nov 20, 2007
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National

Speaker’s plea ignored

Special Correspondent

BJP unrelenting on demand

NEW DELHI: Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s repeated requests to members to let the Lok Sabha function fell on deaf ears, as the Opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday insisted on a discussion on the Nandigram violence and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) tried to raise the 2002 Gujarat riots.

“I have not made up my mind. I have not rejected any demand but there is no question of suspension of question hour,” the Speaker said. However, the House was adjourned till noon as chaos continued to prevail.

Bangladesh cyclone

When it re-assembled, Mr. Chatterjee made a reference to the loss of life and property in the Bangladesh cyclone, followed by a statement by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on India’s relief package to that country.

The Opposition raised its demand for a discussion on Nandigram soon after papers were tabled, leading to the adjournment of the House for the day.

An important bill to amend the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences Act, 1956, and the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh Act, 1966, was scheduled to be taken up for discussion on Monday.

The bill seeks to fix the term of the directors of these institutes at five years or retirement age at 65.

As for the Rajya Sabha, it adjourned soon after it met in the morning as about a dozen BJP members entered the well and refused to budge until Chairman Hamid Ansari acceded to their demand for suspension of question hour and a discussion on Nandigram.

The CPI(M) members pointed out that since law and order was a State subject, it could not be discussed in Parliament. With the BJP members unrelenting, Mr. Ansari adjourned the House for an hour.

Poster protest

As soon as it met again, the BJP members again rushed into the well, one of them displaying a poster. At this, Deputy Chairman K. Rehman Khan asked the member not to display the poster and then requested BJP chief whip S.S. Ahluwalia to control his colleague. Mr. Ahluwalia then walked up to the member and took the poster away.

Order was restored for a brief while when Mr. Mukherjee read out the statement on the Bangladesh cyclone but slogan-shouting resumed as soon as Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh called on the government to allow the BJP to have its say.

Mr. Khan then adjourned the House for the day.

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