The Hindu : Govt. concedes debate on CBI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 01, 2003

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Govt. concedes debate on CBI

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 31. The Opposition today forced the Government to concede a debate in both Houses of Parliament on the role of the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Babri Masjid demolition case in which the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, and some senior leaders of the Sangh Parivar are the accused.

The Business Advisory Committee fixed the discussion in the Rajya Sabha for August 4, while in the Lok Sabha the short duration discussion will be on August 6. Apparently, members of several Opposition parties would be giving notices for this. In the Lok Sabha, a notice for a motion to discuss the issue has already been given, the Congress leader said.

On Tehelka, — the Opposition has virtually made a discussion on this a condition for lifting the ``boycott'' and ``non-recognition'' of George Fernandes as Minister for Defence — nothing seems to have moved forward. It was suggested that the Speaker should call a meeting of party leaders to discuss this as well as the ``conduct of MPs''. The Speaker is unhappy that parties have stalled the House on different issues almost every day since the session began on July 21.

The BJP did not seem too unhappy with the decision to debate the CBI role in the Ayodhya matter. Its leaders said that during the debate they would bring in the CBI's role in the Bofors case as well as a case on antiques concerning the Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi. However, the Congress leaders said: ``let them bring Bofors... from the time of V.P. Singh we have been hearing they have the names of those who have taken commission in their pockets. It is more than 14 years since then.''

What the Opposition has been able to extract from the Government is that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, under whose charge the CBI is, should ``intervene'' in the debate or respond to it. In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition leaders are insisting that Mr. Vajpayee alone should respond.

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