By IANS,
New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) Noisy protests for and against the creation of Telangana forced adjournment of the Lok Sabha Thursday while in the Rajya Sabha, the Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) found common cause on the Headley saga and asked the government to make clear its stand on the case that was getting “curiouser and curiouser”.
The Rajya Sabha also saw some good news on the women’s reservation bill front with Congress’ Jayanthi Natarajan saying the bill to reserve 1/3rd of seats in parliament and legislatures would be discussed in the budget session of parliament.
In the Lok Sabha, noisy protests for and against the division of Andhra Pradesh forced repeated disruptions of the house that saw 28 business papers tabled in a span of just 15 minutes amid the chaos, before the house was adjourned for the day.
Deputy Speaker Karia Munda was forced to adjourn the house as MPs from Andhra Pradesh continually disrupted the proceedings in the pre- and post-lunch sessions.
There were two adjournments in the pre-lunch session. The house had first been adjourned at 11.15 a.m. for 15 minutes. There was a brief lull in the house after it resumed at 11.30 a.m. Question Hour went on rather smoothly till noon when the chaos began all over again. Speaker Meira Kumar was forced to adjourn the Lok Sabha for two hours till 2 p.m.
Jayanthi Natarajan, speaking to reporters after tabling the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, said a bill to reserve 1/3rd of seats in parliament and legislatures for women was likely to be taken up in the budget session of parliament in February 2010.
Referring to two demands made by two Samajwadi Party (SP) members on pegging the reservations at 20 percent and for a quota within a quota for women from the other backward classes and the minorities as has been provided for women from Scheduled Castes and tribes, Natarajan, chairman of the parliamentary panel, said these had been rejected.
She said that 33 percent reservation of seats for women was a “valid and necessary strategy” to enhance their participation in the decision making process, Natarajan hoped the measure would be passed into law “and put into action without further delay”.
The committee “is of the unanimous opinion that reservation of seats for women is a valid and necessary strategy to enhance women’s participation in the decision/policy making process”, the committee said in its report.
There were vociferous protests by the Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members as Shahnawaz Hussain (BJP) tabled the report in the Lok Sabha. However, Committee chair Natarajan faced only minor protests, more in the nature of a formality, when she tabled the report in the Rajya Sabha.
The rapidly unfolding saga of Pakistan-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley saw the Left and the BJP finding common cause in the Rayja Sabha Thursday when they asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clarify matters on the US’ cooperation in unravelling his alleged involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror carnage.
“I am sure the government will respond at the appropriate time,” Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said as the prime minister, who was present in the house, gently nodded in agreement.
Speaking for the second time in the house on the Headley saga, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member Brinda Karat said: “This is an issue that concerns all Indian citizens. I would request the prime minister for a clarification on what we are doing to take up the issue with the US.”
Referring to reports that Headley’s visa papers had gone missing from the Indian consulate in Chicago, Karat said: “Yesterday, the foreign secretary gave a clean chit to the consulate, while the home ministry expressed its concern (on the missing papers). Are there any differences on this between the ministries of external affairs and home?”
Raising the issue as soon as the house assembled, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley (BJP) sought the response of the government on the Headley episode.
“This case is getting curiouser and curiouser. For the last one year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been prosecuting the (26/11) accused. They had not been able to get to him (Headley) all this time. Now, we are suddenly told that he was one of the masterminds.
“Whether he is a (US) agent or double agent, what is the extent of cooperation we are receiving from the US (on unravelling Headley’s antecedents),” Jaitley asked.
“Now, there is the case of the missing visa papers. It is creating serious doubts. Was the information the US had on Headley made available to us,” he wondered.