By IANS,
New Delhi: The allegations against Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja over the 2G spectrum allocation forced repeated adjournments of parliament Monday with the opposition also demanding the government’s reply on charges that a minister had indulged in arms deals.
The spectrum issue created a furore in parliament after a newspaper report on the tapping of phone conversations between a high-profile lobbyist and public relations firm owner and Minister Raja alleged wrongdoing in the allocation.
In the Lok Sabha, the government completed its legislative business amid din before the house was adjourned for the day. The house was adjourned twice earlier in the day.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned four times within two hours after opposition members disrupted proceedings over reports of improprieties by two ministers of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The upper house had to suspend the question hour twice when opposition members demanded that Raja be dismissed over the alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum.
When the house re-assembled for the zero hour at 12 noon, the Left parties led by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) alleged that another central minister, who was not named, was involved in arms deals.
The matter was raised by CPI-M’s Moinul Hassan, who referred to a media report of a conversation between a central minister and a Bangladeshi arms dealer. As per reports, the minister gave over Rs.1 lakh to the arms dealer, the MP said.
Hassan was supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Samajwadi Party (SP) and AIADMK.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan said that the government took all issues raised in the zero hour seriously, but the opposition members were not satisfied with the government’s reply and continued to raise their demands vociferously.
P.G Kurien, who was officiating as the chair, adjourned the house first for 10 minutes. But when the house met again and the opposition members were still not in a mood to let the proceedings continue, he adjourned the house for an hour.
Speaking to reporters outside, CPI-M member Brinda Karat alleged that there were reports of Minister of State for Rural Development Shishir Adhikari giving money to Trinamool Congress workers to buy arms. “This is a very serious issue. The government is trying to trivialise it,” she said.
When the house resumed its sitting in the post-lunch session, Consumers Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Sharad Pawar replied to the discussion on the working of his ministry.
He said the government will consult states on the proposed food security act.
The minister said that the government will continue its approach of targeted Public Distribution System (PDS) and will go by the figure provided by the Planning Commission on the number of people living below poverty line.
The house also took up discussion on the working of home ministry.
In the Lok Sabha, Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal introduced the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010, amid protests by the Left party members. The bill proposes to allow foreign education providers set up campuses in India and offer degrees.
Sibal also introduced the educational tribunals bill, the prohibition of unfair practices in technical and medical educational institutions and universities bill and the national accreditation institutions bill.
The Lok Sabha witnessed two adjournments earlier as opposition members disrupted the proceedings over the allocation of 2G telecom spectrum and demand for a caste-based census.
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD leader Lalu Prasad led their MPs to demand a caste-based census.
In the post-lunch session, members from the Left parties sought to raise the issue of the alleged involvement of a union minister in arms deals.
Amidst the din, the house passed three bills which included Employees State Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2009, and Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2010, moved by Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad moved the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2010, which was also passed by the house.