Wednesday, Jul 23, 2003
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2003 |
| Front Page | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Front Page
By Neena Vyas
In the Rajya Sabha, the allegation of the Government pressuring the CBI would be discussed tomorrow and in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition would be allowed to make its case for an adjournment motion on the subject, after which the Speaker would give his ruling. The Opposition was on the offensive. The Congress was preparing to bring a "privilege motion" against the Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, for misleading the Speaker and the House through his "letter" to the chair yesterday, the party leader, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, told reporters. Some Opposition members said that "it was the first time ever" that a Speaker had given a ruling (rejecting the Opposition demand yesterday) on the basis of a "letter" from a Minister. They said they had conveyed their objection to the chair. The BJP was equally aggressive, describing the Opposition charges of Government interference in the CBI case as "nonsensical" and "ridiculous". In a statement, the BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu said: "A political debate in Parliament has no role to play in a criminal case and as to what charges should be framed... it amounts to interference with the judiciary."
Shekhawat buys peace
In the Rajya Sabha, the Chairman, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, bought peace by reversing his earlier ruling disallowing a debate on the subject. In response to the Opposition's appeals that he reconsider his decision, Mr. Shekhawat announced, just before adjourning the House for the day, that he would allow a discussion tomorrow on the "administrative role of the CBI" in the case against Mr. Advani and others. He asked members to avoid issues which were sub judice. In the Lok Sabha, the announcement that the Opposition would be allowed to make its case for an adjournment motion tomorrow immediately after question hour came after an hour-long meeting of the Business Advisory Committee in the Speaker's chamber. Somnath Chatterjee, CPI (M), pointed out that Mr. Jaitley had made misleading statements yesterday. "An FIR (in this instance the FIR of the Advani case in the Rae Bareilly court) cannot be the basis for framing of charges, but only for the start of investigations. Mr. Jaitley has no jurisdiction, the CBI functions under the Prime Minister, and therefore, if anyone must make a statement on the issue, it has to be the Prime Minister." He also added that in the court the charge of "criminal conspiracy" (Section 120 B) against Mr. Advani and others has already been upheld on the basis of prima facie evidence gathered by the CBI itself. "How can that charge be dropped suddenly?" The Opposition parties pointed out that the High Court had already rejected the plea in a criminal revision petition by the BJP leader, Uma Bharti, and others asking for quashing of charges and the "Supreme Court has also said that charges cannot be quashed'. Mr. Dasmunshi said that if the Opposition was "satisfied'' with the Speaker's ruling tomorrow, the debate will start immediately (as decided in the BAC), "otherwise we will find some other way out".
`Gathering ammunition'
Today, the Opposition was busy gathering its ammunition — it was making and distributing copies of pronouncements by the Special Court and the Allahabad High Court. The criminal conspiracy charge against Mr. Advani and others had been made by the CBI and accepted by the courts on the basis of prima facie evidence, said Mr. Chatterjee and Mr. Dasmunshi. The BJP spokesperson, V.K. Malhotra, said that not only the case against Mr. Advani, but also all cases relating to Babri Masjid demolition against "kar sevaks" were "fit cases to be withdrawn as they were all politically motivated. But we are a party with a difference, we have not done it.
Related Stories:
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
