BJP stages walkout over DVB privatisation scam

New Delhi, Nov 9 (UNI) The Delhi BJP president, along with his colleague, today staged a walkout in the House after the adjournment motion on holding discussion on the Delhi Vidyut Board privatisation and the Smart Card scam was turned down.

Speaker Prem Singh said the issue, as pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General, had been dealt with at length in the House and could not be taken up again.

Minutes after the House began for the day, Mr Harsh Vardhan moved the motion saying the scam was worth thousands of crore and even the CAG had made unsavoury references against the government and hence, the issue needed to be taken up.

''It concerns the breach of privilege and contempt of the House as during the last session the report for the Delhi Public Accounts Committee on privatisation of the Delhi Vidyut Board was unanimously adopted, which directed the Delhi government to send the case for investigation to the CBI and an action taken report be submitted in three months.'' But till date, the Delhi government has not sent the case to the CBI, he added.

Soon after the Speaker refused the motion, Mr Vardhan and Dayanand Chandila walked out of the House saying their rights to speak were being curbed.

Before this, Mr Vardhan raised the issue of shortage of over 300 doctors and nearly 3,500 other vacancies in government hospitals and sought to know why after eight years of the Congress regime, 100 per cent of posts were not filled.

Minister of Health Yoganand Shastri in his reply, said the UPSC was not making appointments of late and added the government was preparing its own 'Health Cadre' to tackle the problem.

To another question on providing armed guards for the security of the members, the Speaker assured the House he had forwarded the request to Chief Minsiter Sheila Dikshit who would take proper action on it.

UNI AN HS RAI2056