By IANS
New Delhi : A belligerent opposition drowned out much of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement on the India-US nuclear deal in the Lok Sabha Monday, moving Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to remark in exasperation that they should be “ashamed” of themselves.
“What are you doing? I don’t understand this. Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?” Chatterjee asked as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party members advanced to the speaker’s podium and raised slogans, even as the prime minister soldiered on with his 28-minute address.
“You are not fit to be members of parliament. You have no right to be here,” Chatterjee thundered, but this had no impact on the opposition MPs, who persisted with their slogans like “Deal dokha hai (The deal is a fraud)”, “Dalali band karo (Stop selling out)”.
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his BJP colleague and Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani were present in the house at the time but watched impassively.
On the treasury side, seated next to Manmohan Singh in the front row were External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, in that order. They thumped their desks vigorously every time the prime minister made a point, for instance, that the deal had not compromised India’s strategic and national interests.
Manmohan Singh spoke with visible passion throughout his address, not even pausing to take a sip of water, even as Chatterjee’s irritation level at the opposition’s behaviour rose equally visibly.
Just before the prime minister completed his statement, some Left party MPs attempted to speak but were shouted down. They then walked out of the house as BJP and Shiv Sena members jeered at them.
The Left parties that support the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from outside have expressed their opposition to the nuclear deal, prompting the prime minister to dare them to part ways.
The Left countered that while it would not do so, it was for the prime minister to “protect” his government. The Left had also demanded a debate in parliament on the nuclear deal but without a vote.
The BJP, on the other hand, has demanded a vote after a debate. The debate will be held on Tuesday and Thursday and Chatterjee has yet to rule on its format.
The prime minister left the house soon after reading out his statement but the slogan shouting continued unabated, in the midst of which the speaker called out the remaining business of the day and also a discussion on the flood situation in Bihar.
When the slogan shouting still did not stop, Chatterjee angrily glared at the opposition MPs and said: “Yeh to ho gaya. Aap jayiye apne seat par (The statement on the nuclear deal is over. Please return to your seats).”
This had little effect and 42 minutes into the post-lunch session, the speaker adjourned the house till 11 a.m. Tuesday.
This was, in fact, the third adjournment of the day, the first two being at 11.05 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. respectively – again due to opposition protests against the nuclear deal.