The Hindu : National : Early end to Parliament session outrageous: CPI

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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Early end to Parliament session outrageous: CPI

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Gurudas Dasgupta has described the early end of the budget session of Parliament as “outrageous,” denying the members the right to discuss matters of urgent public importance.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Dasgupta along with C.K. Chandrappan and Sudhakar Reddy said the matter of sine die adjournment ahead of schedule was not discussed with the political parties and was probably decided by the government in consultation with the BJP.

“It is in fact a shameful collusion between the Congress and the BJP to scuttle Parliamentary sittings. Convening Parliament for a particular period, and then adjourning the House before time has become a practice under the Congress rule, being ‘aided and abetted by the main Opposition party’,” he said.

According to Mr. Dasgupta, it was the shortest budget session in the history of the country’s Parliament. While the government claimed that there was no business, the Business Advisory Committee had listed important Bills, several items under Rule 317 and a discussion under Rule 193 on the situation arising out of the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the exclusion of the creamy layer from reservation in the higher educational institutions.

“Parliament is becoming too inconvenient for the ruling party. When the country is facing a prolonged period of price rise and the government is about to discuss further the nuclear deal, the abrupt adjournment gives a feeling of suspicion that the government wanted to avoid discussions,” he said.

He wanted the government’s reaction on U.S. President George Bush’s statement that price rise and food shortage were caused by the Indian middle class.

Curtailment of sessions seriously damaged the Parliamentary system, jeopardised the foundation of the democratic set-up, bred authoritarianism and weakened the Constitutional obligation of the government he said.

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