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Indian Parliament Plunges into Turmoil
India's parliament has plunged into turmoil Monday for the fifth consecutive day with an unrelenting Opposition sticking to its demand for resignation of the government over the portal expose, forcing adjournment of the House for the day.
With a lot of business pending since last Tuesday, Lower House Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi rushed through with some of the items on the day's agenda even as Opposition members shouted slogans from the well.
The House was first adjourned for an hour when it met this morning and later for the day when it reassembled at noon as pandemonium prevailed.
Sonia Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress, stood as the uproar continued and her party members were joined in the slogan- shouting by those from other opposition parties.
Outside the precincts to Parliament House, members belonging to ruling and opposition parties continued their battle, shouting slogans and counter slogans soon after the Lower House was adjourned for an hour.
Analysts said that the opposition parties are likely to continue stalling proceedings in both houses of Parliament, demanding the resignation of the government over the Tehelka expose.
Kapil Sibal, a Congress leader, said that his party would not allow a government which had "sabotaged" the judicial inquiry to continue and it would go ahead with its agitation inside and outside Parliament till its ouster.
The other opposition parties at a meeting decided to continue their strategy Tuesday to stall proceedings of Parliament.
In a move to pressurize ouster of the government, the Congress announced a nation-wide multi-phased action plan beginning this weekend and said moving a no-trust against the government in the Lower House would be "meaningless."
In the first phase beginning march 24 after Parliament adjourned for a three-week recess, Congress spokesman Jaipal Reddy said that awareness campaign would be launched and protest rallies would be organized in every district headquarters.
However, he indicated that the Congress would not obstruct passage of vote-on-account in Parliament as the party is a " responsible opposition."
"We would like to avoid any constitutional impasse," he said, " The Business of the nation will not be disrupted."
With fast moving political developments in the wake of the Tehelka expose, the BJP National Executive Meeting is to be held here on March 24 and 25 instead of scheduled March 30 and 31 in Calcutta.
BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra said that it was decided by the party leadership that the meeting be held immediately after Parliament adjourns for a three-week recess to take stock of the political situation in the country.
The National Democratic Alliance will also launch a public awareness campaign from March 25 with a public meeting to be held on that day. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other senior leaders will address the meeting.
Hitting out at Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Malhotra said, "She has shown that she has no respect for Parliamentary system, nor is she interested in a inquiry. We are prepared for a debate in the House, a vote of confidence. But, it seems the Congress just doesn't seem interested in any of these procedures of Parliamentary system."
Meanwhile, the three cabinet ministers from the Samata party, who resigned last week, agreed to withdraw their resignations and return to work. This was decided at the Samata party parliamentary party meeting.
They are Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar, Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs V. Srinivasa Prasad.
In a related development, Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand wrote to the government expressing inability to spare a sitting judge for the probe into the Tehelka expose and said he would be choosing a retired judge for the purpose.
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