By IANS,
New Delhi : Parliament collapsed into din Wednesday – the 19th day of no business – due to persistent opposition protests demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum row.
Opposition MPs chanting slogans gathered near Speaker Meira Kumar’s podium the moment she opened the Lok Sabha at 11 a.m. Holding noisy protests, the MPs forced the chair to adjourn the house till noon first.
When MPs reassembled at 12, the protesting lawmakers started shouting once again: “We want JPC, we want JPC!”
The government did manage to lay some papers and ministry reports on the table but nothing significant in terms of legislative bills could be accomplished.
Goa MP Francisco Sardinha, who was chairing the session, adjourned the house for the day within five minutes after 12.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned under similar circumstances.
With just three more working days left before parliament closes to meet for the 2011-12 budget, it appears that the entire winter session has been lost to protests over the alleged irregularities in the second generation telephony spectrum allotment of 2008.
The paralysis in parliament since the winter session began Nov 9 has caused serious concerns with the government losing on crucial time to pass some important legislations.
The 24 sittings of the winter session was scheduled to take up bills on land acquisition, judicial accountability, reforming accounting standards, amending labour laws and setting up a national mineral regulation authority. None of them has happened.
The government did manage to get a parliament nod for crucial supplemental spending bills by voice vote, without a debate.
As the government and the opposition remain stuck to their stand on JPC, the logjam is causing a loss of Rs.7.8 crore per day to the national exchequer.
A. Raja, who was forced to quit as the IT and communication minister, is alleged to have sold spectrum licenses at rates much lower than the market causing huge financial losses to the national exchequer.
Proceedings in the Lok Sabha began with Meira Kumar expressing condolences over the loss of lives in rains in Tamil Nadu and Tuesday’s blast in Varanasi which killed a two-year-old girl and left over 20 people injured.
The house observed a minute’s silence in the memory of the dead.