PM under opposition fire for silence on Lalgarh rally

Opposition MPs rock Rajya Sabha on Mamata's statement on Azad's killing

PTI | August 10, 2010



Opposition BJP today created uproar in Rajya Sabha over Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee's rally at Lalgarh backed by Maoists and asked why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was silent on the Railway Minister's alleged hobnobbing with Left-wing extremists.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said the Prime Minister has on several occasions termed the Maoists as the single greatest threat to internal security.

He said all ministers are expected to follow the government policy as collective responsibility.

"What we find today is that the principle of collective responsibility is being breached and there is a disagreement on the policy of the government," he said, adding that foremost underground Maoist leaders like Kishenji and Manoj Mahato had given a call to make yesterday's rally a success.

Jaitley said Ashish Mahato, who was said to be responsible for the Jnaneshwari Express train tragedy, was present in the rally along with several top underground leaders.

He was frequently interrupted by Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi.

An irked Jaitley said if Trivedi, a Lok Sabha member, was speaking as a minister (MoS for Health), it was all the more worrisome because the policies of the Prime Minister and his government are being negatived by his junior minister.

Deputy Chairman K Rehman Khan also reminded Trivedi that as a member of the council of ministers, he should not disrupt Leader of the Opposition.

Noting that the Prime Minister has chosen to keep silent on various issues like Kashmir and Commonwealth Games, the BJP leader said, "Silence, at times, can be a weapon of convenience, but conspiracy of silence cannot be allowed."

The BJP members, who shouted slogans seeking the Prime Minister's response, were joined by the Left members.

Dissatisfied with the response of Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the BJP members staged a walk-out.

Chavan said the Opposition parties have made a lot of "insinuations" based on newspaper reports. The government would ascertain the facts and come back to the House.

Earlier, the party did not allow the Question Hour to be taken up forcing Chairman Hamid Ansari to adjourn the House till 12 noon.

When Jaitley said he has given a notice for suspension of Question Hour, he was not allowed to speak further by Congress members.

Ansari repeatedly asked the members to resume their seats so that Jaitley could make a statement but his pleas went unheeded.

"This is very unseemly," Ansari said before adjourning the House till 1200 noon.

Comments

 

Other News

India`s renewable race is moving beyond megawatts

When Shell bought Sprng Energy in 2022, India`s renewable energy market appeared to offer precisely what global energy majors were seeking: scale, growth and a place in one of the world`s largest energy transitions. Four years later, Shell is selling the same business to Aditya Birla Group for an enterpris

Nepal Floods: India keeps close watch on the situation

India`s central government has been keeping a close watch on the situation arising out of the flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday. Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the two states that share the border with Nepal, regarding the disaster

UPI completes 10 years of digital payments revolution

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on August 25, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has completed 10 years of transforming digital payments in India. UPI has emerged as the backbone of India’s digi

Here’s an I.D.E.A. for career growth and success

Success in today’s professional organisation is no longer solely determined by academic qualifications, technical expertise or years of experience. While these attributes do matter, organisations increasingly value individuals who demonstrate the right mindset and behavioural qualities. The ability

PM interacts with CEOs, founders of space startups

Prime minister Narendra Modi interacted with CEOs and Founders of 20 Space Startups at Seva Teerth on Friday.   CEOs of leading companies in the space sector working in diverse fields ranging from building rockets and reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, avionics, satelli

From one cow to a dairy business

In 2012, Anita Dash wasn`t dreaming of building a dairy brand. She wasn`t studying business models or planning market expansion. Like countless mothers across India, her focus was on something much simpler: giving her children a better future.   At the time, her most valuable

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter