Front Page
Ayodhya issue rocks Parliament
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, DEC. 6. The Ayodhya issue rocked Parliament today as a determined Opposition forced an adjournment of both Houses, marking the ninth anniversary of the Babri Masjid.
The Opposition put up a coordinated and united show, vociferously demanding that their adjournment motion indicting the Vajpayee Government be admitted. As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled, shouts of ``Jai Shri Ram'' rose from the BJP benches, which were countered by ``shame, shame'' from the Opposition members.
For the next few minutes, the House was drowned in the din as members from the Opposition and the ruling coalition were on their feet, raising slogans and at times waving their clenched fists in the air. The Speaker, Mr. G.M.C. Balayogi's efforts to get on with the business proved futile. ``Please allow the House to function. You can raise the issue during zero hour,'' he pleaded.
Within minutes, the Speaker, sensing the mood of the members, adjourned the House for the day. In the Treasury benches, the Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, and other senior Ministers were present while the Opposition benches were full and the Leader of the Opposition, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, sat through the turmoil.
The Congress, the CPI(M), the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party had given separate adjournment notices accusing the NDA Government of failing to ensure maintenance of status quo at Ayodhya as per the directions of the Supreme Court. They alleged that the Centre had failed to book the accused in the demolition case and prevent Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists from vitiating the atmosphere.
The script was more or less repeated in the Rajya Sabha. The Opposition raised the issue as soon as the House assembled, with Mr. Suresh Pachauri of the Congress waving a copy of an English daily which had reported that a secret meeting attended by five Union Ministers was held this week at which the temple construction issue was discussed.
The Samajwadi Party member, Mr. Azam Khan, was seen displaying a placard `Sharam Divas' (Day of Shame) while other Opposition members lent their voice protesting against the manner in which the Sangh Parivar was still pursuing its agenda. They cited the recent forceful entry into the disputed site by VHP leaders.
With the ruling coalition members joining issue, the House witnessed disorderly scenes for five minutes. The Chairman, Mr. Krishan Kant, adjourned the House for the day. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, was present in the House as the day is reserved for questions relating to his office. But Mr. Vajpayee made no attempt to intervene.
Prime accused holding key posts, says Cong.
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, DEC. 6. The Congress continued to embarrass the Government on the Babri Masjid issue both inside and outside Parliament. After joining the rest of the Opposition parties and forcing an adjournment in Parliament, outside the House, the party said December 6 was a `black day' in the history of the country.
According to the party, this year the issue had gained significance in view of the fact that the Union Ministers chargesheeted in the demolition case were allowed to get away because of the Government's refusal to correct the technical flaw in its chargesheet. ``The High Court wanted the CBI to correct the technical flaw in its chargesheet but it has stubbornly refused to do so,'' the Congress spokesperson, Mr. Jaipal Reddy, said.
He said the ``prime accused'' in the case continued to be the leading lights in the NDA Government because of the connivance of the Uttar Pradesh Government and the CBI. Mr. Reddy pointed out that Mr. Advani had the ``double advantage'' of being implicated in the demolition case and yet enjoying the privileged position of monitoring his own investigation.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Front Page
|
