Pathak report : Lok Sabha adjourned for the day
New Delhi, Aug 4: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the third time today and finally for the day, till Monday, after a showdown involving slogan shouting by Opposition and Ruling party members on the leak of the Justice Pathak Committee report on the oil-for-food scam to the media.
As soon as the House re-assembled for the third time at 1530 Hours, BJP parliamentary party's deputy leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra stood up to make a point of order on the leak of the Report to the media, even before being placed in Parliament, when it was in session.
But Mr Devendra Prasad Yadav, who was in the Chair, called out the names of members regarding legislative business relating to Private Members.
This was followed by BJP members and some others from the NDA parties trooping to the well of the House shouting slogans aginst the Congress.
This provoked Congress members, who left their seats but stopped short of coming to the well of the house, shouting counter slogans against the BJP.
The slogan shouting reached a high pitch when the Chair got up and enjoined the members not to disrupt the proceedings relating to the Private Members' Bills.
Mr Yadav was at pains telling the members that it was unprecedented in the history of India's parliamentary democracy that the House was not allowed to carry on business entailing Private Members' Bills.
''Is this democracy? The entire country is watching what is going on. Never in the history of Parliament has such a thing happened,'' he said.
He was joined by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi who observed that legislative business regarding Private Members' Bills was being prevented from being transacted.
The Chair ordered that the slogans would not be recorded in the records of the proceedings of the House.
However,
his
exhortations
to
the
members
to
let
procedings
continue
uninterrupted
fell
on
deaf
ears
and
he
was
left
with
no
option
but
to
adjourn
the
House
for
the
day.
Similar
scenes
were
witnessed
in
the
House
when
it
re-assembled
at
1500
Hours,
after
the
first
adjournment
ealier
in
the
day.
Mr
Davendra
Prasad
Yadav
was
in
the
Chair,
who
made
a
vain
attempt
to
carry
on
business
relating
to
laying
down
of
papers
by
some
Ministers
and
members.
As an admant Opposition and an equally determined ruling party members continued slogan shouting, the Chair called for a second adjournment.
As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, the Opposition stalled its proceedings, accusing the government of engineering the leak in "contempt of parliament." An irrate Opposition moved to the well soon after the House commenced its procedings.
Opposition members charged that the Committee has given a clean chit to the ruling Congress while indicting former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and his son Jagat Singh.
It is intriguing that the Report was submitted to the Prime Minister and leaked to the Press at the same time. It is contempt of Parliament,'' Leader of Opposition L K Advani said.
Mr Advani was first to raise the issue and received support from pary leaders, barring the Congress.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee condemned the leak and asked the government to explain how it occurred.
UNI