BJP gives privilege notice on Ronen Sen's remarks

New Delhi, Aug 21 (UNI) Taking strong exception to India's Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen's reported remarks terming the opponents of the nuclear deal ''headless chicken'', the BJP today gave notices of privilege against the diplomat in Parliament, demanding that he not only be recalled but also summoned before the bar of the House and ''admonished''.

While Leader of the Opposition L K Advani had given the notice for privilege motion in the Lok Sabha, former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who has been named in Mr Sen's statement, did so in the Rajya Sabha, BJP leaders V K Malhotra and Ms Sushma Swaraj informed newspersons.

Earlier the issue rocked both Houses of Parliament with the opposition seeking suspension of the Question Hour to debate the matter, which they described as highly objectionable and serious.

Mr Malhotra said the Opposition was not at all satisfied with the clarification given by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee who read out a statement sent to the Government by Mr Sen. ''In fact, the defence given by the ambassador was more objectionable and atrocious and he cannot get away by saying that he spoke off the record, trying to put the blame on the media,'' he said.

Ms Swaraj said Mr Sen's plea could not be accepted as "he meant what he said". By saying that he was referring to the media in his conversation, ''Mr Sen attempted to open up another front'', He had not implicated the critics alone but also those publishing it, she said.

She said the ambassador had attacked both the Left parties and the BJP by stating that he was aghast by the Left's Opposition and BJP's torpedoing the nuclear deal.

''It displays the contempt he has for the opponents of the deal,'' she said.

UNI