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PAC issue still rocks Parliament

By Our New Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI AUG. 8. For the second successive day, the Opposition in Parliament vigorously opposed the Government's denial of the Central Vigilance Commission's (CVC) report on defence purchases to the Parliamentary Affairs Committee forcing the adjournment of both Houses for the day. Parliament will now reconvene on August 13 after a four-day break because of the `Raksha Bandhan' festival.

The Rajya Sabha was the first to adjourn, barely 30 minutes after being convened, after an unrelenting Opposition clashed repeatedly with ruling party Members. Suresh Pachouri (Congress) quoted the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which would form the main basis of the Public Accounts Committee's (PAC) inquiry, and said it had held that out of the Rs. 2,163 crores worth of purchases for the Kargil conflict, most of the ammunition was delivered months after the conflict was over.

The former Army chief, Shankar Roy Chowdhury (Independent), cautioned that contentious debates on national security issues were badly affecting the defence services. "There is a devastating effect due to debates on Bofors, Coffingate, Tehelka or the PAC report on Kargil. One of the main reasons why everybody in the Defence Ministry is unwilling to take a decision on procurement is because of these debates," he said. While the Chairman, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, said the members could discuss the subject immediately, if they so wished, the Opposition refused to relent forcing the Rajya Sabha to adjourn.

The Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi adjourned the House as Congress members stormed the well of the House soon after two Constitutional amendment bills were passed. They were demanding the tabling of the CVC report and protesting against the arrests of its leaders in Gujarat ahead of a State-wide bandh. The Congress Chief Whip, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, took umbrage to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders attacking the office of the PAC through the electronic media. He wanted the Government to immediately restrain the BJP leaders from vilifying the PAC. Amidst anti-Government slogans, the House was adjourned by the Speaker.

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