By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s scheduled foreign trips could delay the much-awaited debate on the India-US civil nuclear deal during the winter session of parliament if the opposition insisted on his presence during the discussion.
The debate on the nuclear deal could take place Monday if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition did not insist on the prime minister’s presence in the house, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said here Wednesday.
He said the discussion could take place after Nov 26 in the Lok Sabha, if the opposition as well as others wanted Manmohan Singh to be present during the debate.
Manmohan Singh will visit Singapore Nov 20 for the ASEAN summit following which he will go to Uganda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meet. He returns on Nov 26.
“The date for the discussion will be decided at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting Thursday,” Dasmunsi told reporters.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said that all senior ministers should be present during the debate on the nuclear deal in the absence of the prime minister.
Referring to the opposition’s criticism of Manmohan Singh’s trip abroad at a time when parliament would be in session, Chatterjee said the prime minister could not avoid travelling as he is required to represent the country at important international events.
Both houses are expected to be adjourned without transacting any business Thursday, the first day of the winter session, after eulogies for the sitting MPs who passed away after the last session.
While the Rajya Sabha will mourn the demise of BJP MP Jena Krishnamurthy, Lok Sabha will express condolences for Vijay Kumar Khandelwal, a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Betul, who died Monday.
The BJP-led opposition is preparing to give a notice for an adjournment motion on last week’s violence in West Bengal’s Nandigram, where tensions peaked between the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and those who oppose farmland acquisition for industry resulting in 34 deaths since January.