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

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Master sculptor recalls the making of the Shankaracharya statue

The Golden Chisel: The Story Behind the Making of Ram Lalla  By Seethalakshmi S. and Rahul Nandan Rupa Publications, 168 pages, Rs 395  

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter