New Delhi:
After the Parliament's Winter Session opened and was promptly shut yesterday with an unfazed P Chidambaram tabling his reply in the face of a protesting Opposition, a discussion on Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement on price rise will take place today. But, the Opposition, especially the Left, still says it should entail voting. A breakthrough will be once again attempted on Wednesday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters that the Lower House would take up the discussion on the statement of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the price situation.
On Tuesday, as promised, the Opposition boycotted Mr Chidambaram but, the Home minister didn't blink. On this acrimonious note, the winter session began as MPs from NDA drowned out the proceedings the moment Mr Chidamabaram stood up to answer questions on Naxalism.
(Watch: Will this session too break promises?)The Left did not support the BJP's move of targeting Mr Chidambaram over the 2G charges, but made common cause over price rise. The Left MPs wanted Lok Sabha to stop all other work and discuss price rise under provisions that entailed voting, something that makes the government uncomfortable.
A vote in Parliament not only means that government will do number crunching but it can't be seen against any resolution that condemns price rise. After both Houses were adjourned on Tuesday, Mr Mukherjee met the Left leaders and seems to have brought the situation under control for now. Sources say that the Left may not insist on a vote.
On the first day of the Winter Session, the Opposition chose Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's appeal. (
Watch: Congress blasts BJP for Parliament logjam)
"There is virtually no case for a boycott of the type that has been talked about in the newspapers. I once again appeal to all political parties to work together to give the development agenda of our country a push forward. As you all know, the global economy is facing serious difficulties and if we don't manage our affairs well, we will go down as well," Dr Singh had said.
The BJP says it does not want a logjam but its opposition to Mr Chidambaram remains.
"We will not scuttle the session because we are only opposing Chidambaram, not the government. We will continue to reason with the government to accept our motion on illegal accounts abroad. If the government is adamant, and doesn't concede to reasonable demands, then a logjam is possible," said BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.
(Watch: What Mr Sinha said)A day before, the government had reached out to the BJP in a desperate attempt to shrug the paralysis tag. Mr Mukherjee called BJP President Nitin Gadkari for lunch but it did little to avoid a government-Opposition relationship breakdown.
Proceedings on day one
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who missed the whole of Monsoon Session because of her health, was back in Parliament on Tuesday and witnessed a ruckus with both Houses adjourned.
The Left had wanted an adjournment motion over the issue of price rise. But the Speaker, instead, called for the start of the Question Hour with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram giving a written reply as is the norm.
Today was the Home Minister's Question Hour day. Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) began protesting the moment Mr Chidambaram placed his reply to a question on the Naxal issue and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member Raghuvansh Prasad Singh rose to ask a supplementary question.
MPs of the Samajwadi Party too created a ruckus over Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's move to divide the state into four. The Speaker was finally forced to adjourn the House.
After it reconvened, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee began reading out a statement on price rise. The government is hoping that this will help it keep an adjournment motion at bay, and move the issue, instead, to a discussion under Rule 193, which does not entail voting.
But members of the Samajwadi Party as well as the Shiv Sena trooped into the well of the House. MPs of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi also made some noise over the issue of Telangana. Some MPs also raised the issue of farmers in Maharashtra. The Speaker finally adjourned the House for the day.
The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, was adjourned for the day after obituary references.
The NDA had already said that it would boycott Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament; it means that they will just not allow him to speak in House at all.
(Read: BJP doesn't want logjam, only opposed to Chidambaram)Addressing the media just outside the Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today appealed to all political parties to let the session go on smoothly. "The government is prepared to discuss all the issues which the Opposition may want to discuss," he said.
Referring to the legislations that the government has scheduled for the session, Dr Singh said, "Our country's sustained development and prosperity demand that many of those Bills are converted into Acts of Parliament."
Reacting to the NDA's call for boycott, the PM said, "As far as the boycott is concerned, I sincerely hope that the political parties will desist any such temptation. There is virtually no case for a boycott of the type that has been talked about in the newspapers."
The Left parties have said they will not boycott Mr Chidambaram but will press for his resignation. The opposition wants the Home Minister to quit over his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam.
"The then Finance Minister P Chidambaram was equally culpable as the then Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum scam. Until his resignation is accepted, we will continue to boycott him in Parliament". senior BJP leader SS Ahluwalia had said on Monday.
The Congress-led ruling UPA, which is to introduce or discuss 54 Bills in less than a month, has appealed to the Opposition to allow working of the House and give Mr Chidambaram a chance to speak.
Law Minister Salman Khursheed had earlier praised his cabinet colleague, Mr Chidambaram, as one of the "finest" and "cutting-edge" ministers and said the Home Minister had maintained a careful silence thus far on the 2G matter, but was willing to speak on the contentious telecom issue if the Parliament wanted him to.
NDTV has learnt that the government's chief trouble-shooter Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met BJP President Nitin Gadkari on Monday to discuss all issues that will come up during the Winter Session.
The Chidambaram boycott plan is not the Government's only worry. On the very first day today, opposition parties plan to move adjournment motions on price rise and black money. Senior BJP leader L K Advani, just back from his Jan Chetna Yatra against corruption, will move a motion against black money, which will also touch upon the explosive 2G issue. The Left, meanwhile, will put the government on the mat through a motion on inflation. With both the NDA and the Left working out a coordinated floor strategy, they seem set to stall proceedings on both these issues.
That will have the UPA government worried - crucial among the several key legislations that it plans to introduce in this session are the Lokpal Bill, Judicial Accountability Bill, Food Security Bill, Land Acquisition Bill and Education Bill.
The Lokpal Bill, understandably, is expected to generate much heat and debate. The government has promised anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare that it would make the anti-corruption legislation a reality during this session. Mr Hazare has threatened to intensify his stir if the Centre fails to pass the bill in the Winter Session. Yesterday, he reminded the government that he was watching the session closely saying, "The Government should pass a strong Jan Lokpal Bill...If a strong Janlokpal Bill is not passed, we will agitate."
Among the important Bills on the government's agenda are:
- Judicial Accountability Bill
(With inputs from PTI)