Peace in Parliament after days of disruption- August 11, 2011

Peace in Parliament after days of disruption

Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, August 11, 2011

Peace finally returned to parliament Thursday after days of disruption by opposition MPs on various issues. Both houses of Parliament were able to conduct their respective question hours without any disturbance. Important papers related to the functioning of various government departments
and ministries were also laid on the table.

The monsoon session of Parliament had started on a stormy note on Aug 1 with opposition members cornering the government on issues like alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Commonwealth Games, rising prices and police crackdown on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists in the capital.

In the first 10 days of the session, that ends Sep 8, question hours in both houses had been disrupted almost every day. The number of questions answered orally as against the number that were listed to be answered till Wednesday were 14 as against 160 in the Lok Sabha and 18 as against 160 in the Rajya Sabha.

Of the 32 bills listed for introduction at the beginning of the session, only five have been introduced so far. Thirty-five bills have been listed for passing but none was passed till Wednesday.

However, as peace returned Thursday, the government was hopeful that the houses would function smoothly.

The logjam ended after a series of meetings Wednesday between the government and the BJP.

The Left had alleged that disruption of parliament work, delaying discussion on important issues like corruption and prices, was a "joint effort" of the BJP and the Congress.

"The BJP and Congress have joined hands to delay the discussion on corruption and price rise. What is the point in disrupting the house? It is a joint effort by the BJP and the Congress. Quite frankly, the Congress is benefiting from this," CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said.

The BJP and other opposition parties have been targeting the government demanding the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over irregularities in the Games and also that of Home Minister P. Chidambaram over the police crackdown.