By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday signalled normal functioning of the two houses of parliament on Wednesday, saying the government had agreed to a discussion on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement on the 2008 trust vote made in the two houses last week in the wake of WikiLeaks expose.
BJP leader S.S. Ahluwalia said Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee had spoken to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj to have the discussion on the issue after passage of the Finance Bill.
Ahluwalia said Sushma Swaraj insisted on having the discussion before passage of the Finance Bill but the government did not agree. He said the BJP decided to stage a walk out and come to the house when it takes up discussion on the 2008 cash-for-vote scam.
Ahluwalia said the BJP had decided to stage a walk out and not impede discussion on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha so as not to create a constitutional crisis for the government.
He said the government wanted a discussion relating to the 2008 trust vote on the same day in the two houses and added that discussion in Rajya Sabha would also take place Wednesday.
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day after the BJP members insisted on a discussion on the alleged bribery in the 2008 trust vote that has figured in leaked US diplomatic cables.
As per leaked US diplomatic cables, an American diplomat was told that Rs.50-60 crore had been kept aside by the Congress to win over MPs during the 2008 trust vote. The government has denied the charge.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told the parliament last week that the panel which probed the bribe-for-votes scam in 2008 had found insufficient evidence to draw any conclusions.