Prabhunath warns of privilege notice on Bhojpuri

New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) Getting the support of Lok Sabha members across party lines, Janata Dal(United) leader Prabhunath Singh today warned of a privilege notice against the UPA government for its failure to include Bhojpuri language in the 8th schedule of the Constitution.

Raising the issue during the zero hour, he said the Home Minister, while replying to a Calling Attention on December 18 in 2006, had assured the House of getting Bhojpuri and Rajasthani included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution. The assurance, he added, was repeated in the House on March 19 by then Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi.

When Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's directed the government to give a statement in the House, Mr Dasmunsi, who no longer holds the charge of the Parliamentary Affairs ministry, was heard saying ''hoga hoga (it will be done)'' while pointing towards the JD(U) member without getting up.

However, the Speaker's direction and Mr Dasmunsi's assurance failed to calm the agitated member who pointed towards the ''abyssmal record'' of the UPA government in fulfilling assurances given in the House. He said the government had so far implemented just 14 per cent of the assurances it had given in the House as 149 assurances had been fulfilled out of the 1,086 given by it.

Reminding the government that 20 crore speakers of Bhojpuri can not be ignored any longer, Mr Singh sought the Speaker's intervention to direct the UPA to implement the promise. To this, Mr Chatterjee said ''I request the government to take a note of it seriously.'' UNI SAA RR BD1435