CPI(M) peeved at LS Speaker 'discriminatory' role

New Delhi, Oct 22 (UNI) Short of calling Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee as ''biased'', the CPI(M) today said his decision to suspend party MP Abdulla Kutty speaks volumes of his ''discriminatory use of discretionary powers'' against the party, adding that the Chair is not allowing debate on important national issues.

''Presiding Officers of both Houses of Parliament have the discretionary powers to ask a member to leave the House, but in this particular case the Chair has discriminated against our member, who is one of the most obedient members of the House, without any valid reason,'' CPI(M) Floor Leader Basudeb Acharia and Mohammad Salim told newspersons.

They said the Chair, who represents the collective will of the chamber, suspended our MP for simply showing listed business, while there had been umpteen instances when the members tore their shirts, removed shoes, threw papers on the presiding officers besides displaying newspapers and other papers.

Mr Acharia said Mr Kutty did not even go to the well. He showed just a list of business, he added Even they sought to compare the present Speaker with that of the 13th Lok Sabha, saying at that time they always got information on all matters which was not the case in the present scenario." Now there is a buzz that the House will be adjourned on October 24, but there is no official communication so far. He has also not given the ruling on our Privilege Motion against the Prime Minister over the Indo-US nuclear deal.'' Party Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury stressed that his party would not change its stated position that the government should convene a full-fledged Winter Session of Parliament instead of rescheduling the present one.

Stating that the Congress and the BJP are hand in glove as the latter is willing to ''oblige'' so that the issue of attacks on minorities does not come up in Parliament, they said the other burning issues are equally important, the economic crisis, violence in Assam.

Mohammed Salim said if the Chair did not allow discussion it helped the ''fearful and defunct government'', and that the MPs have a genuine grudge to display.

On the government's refusal to restore rice quota for Kerala, which had been reduced to the extent of 82 per cent, he said their all pleas and raising the issue at the level of the Prime minister and the Food Minster yielded no results.

''We raised the issue in the Budget session of Parliament, staged a dharna outside the Gate No 1 of the Parliament House. Only on October 17, the Kerala Chief Minister, along with several MPs and MP MLAS from the state, held a protest dharna at Jantar Mantar,'' he added.

Besides, the state quota of electricity had been drastically cut, he said, adding this is mainly for political reasons. There is no dearth of rice with the FCI, he added.

UNI KSA RL AS1652