BJP MPs want discussions on scams in Congress states
Prime Minster Narendra Modi, parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and other ministers arrive at the Parliament in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: With the Congress demanding the resignation of the Chief Ministers of some BJP-ruled states, parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said, “There is a demand to discuss scams involving the Chief Ministers of different parties”, which was a veiled reference to the bribery scam surrounding Congress leaders in Assam and Goa.
Leader of the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley proposed that the matter concerning Ms Swaraj could be discussed and that the external affairs minister would either make a statement in the beginning or reply later, but the Opposition led by the Congress did not yield from its demand for her resignation.
The Congress also demanded the resignations of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje respectively. The Congress raised the Lalit Modi matter in the Rajya Sabha and demanded a discussion, and the suspension of scheduled business. But when the government agreed to the discussion, the Congress changed tack and said Ms Swaraj should resign first and then the matter could be discussed.
To this, Mr Jaitley quipped that the Congress didn’t really want a discussion but “disturbance”. Amid sloganeering by Congress MPs who trooped into the Well of the House, the Rajya Sabha was first adjourned by 10 minutes, which was repeated several times for varying periods, leading eventually to a complete washout of the day’s proceedings.
The Congress, supported by the Left and the Samajwadi Party, sought to raise the issue of Lalitgate and Vyapam scams in the House. The BJP, on the other hand, gave notices for discussion in both Houses of Parliament to discuss the alleged scams in Congress and non-NDA-ruled states. Sources said the notices for a discussion of Kerala’s solar scam, Uttarakhand’s flood compensation scam, West Bengal’s Saradha scam and Tuktuki kidnapping case and Himachal Pradesh’s steel scam had been submitted.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after tributes were paid to a sitting MP and 13 former members who had passed away in recent months. In the Lok Sabha, NDA MPs surrounded Ms Swaraj in a show of solidarity. The Congress is likely to move an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday on the Vyapam scam.
The BJP said, meanwhile, that the party was ready for a discussion on all issues, including on “damaad (son-in-law) and Quattrocchi (relating to the Bofors scam)”. The BJP said if a discussion on state issues was allowed, then Robert Vadra’s land deal and the CBI’s probe against Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh could also be discussed.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoped that the Monsoon Session would be fruitful. “In the last Session, some political parties had given an assurance that in the next Session, some work will be done on priority... I am hopeful that good decisions and more decisions will be taken,” he said.
Ready for debate: Sushma
A combative external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said she was ready for a debate in Parliament over Congress allegations about her links with controversial former IPL chief Lalit Modi.
“I am ready for a debate today itself. I asked Arun Jaitley to convey this to Rajya Sabha,” the minister said in a tweet. “Arun Jaitley has conveyed this to the House. We are looking forward to the Opposition’s response,” she added.
The finance minister had earlier said the government was prepared for a debate. The Congress raised the Lalit Modi controversy in the Rajya Sabha and demanded a discussion on the issue.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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