Slogans, counter-slogans

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, AUG. 2. The Lok Sabha today witnessed unprecedented slogan-shouting and counter slogan-shouting between the treasury benches and the Congress members, during the debate on the adjournment motion on the Unit Trust of India fiasco.

Two of the more controversy-prone members - Mr. George Fernandes and Mr. Manishanker Aiyar - were at the core of the slanging match.

Trouble arose when the treasury benches objected to what they thought was flaunting of a currency note at Mr. Fernandes by the Congress member.

The treasury benches were on their feet, vociferously protesting what they thought was an unparliamentary reference to the Tehelka episode. The Opposition was not amused that Mr. Fernandes, facing a probe by the Venkataswami Commission, had taken it upon himself to issue certificates of good conduct to the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha.

And, predictably, the Congress benches were unwilling to be cowed down. They trooped into the well of the House, shouting slogans: ``We want a JPC''.

This was countered by the BJP MPs, who shouted: ``We want BJP''. The slogan-shouting persisted for nearly five minutes.

Order could be restored only when the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, asked the treasury benches to behave while the Deputy Speaker, Mr. P.M. Sayeed, promised to look into the record and to have expunged unparliamentary remarks, if any.

However, the eruption was only an expression of the tension that has been building in the two Houses between the treasury benches and the Opposition, which has sought to capitalise on the discord within the NDA.

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