By IANS,
New Delhi : Both houses of parliament were adjourned for the ninth day Monday without having conducted normal business as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) persisted with its protest over allocation of coal blocks.
The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day after the BJP noisily pursued the issue.
In the Rajya Sabha, BJP members were on their feet soon after the house – following repeated adjournments – met at 2 p.m. demanding cancellation of coal block allocations. Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien, who was presiding, then ordered adjournment for the day.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha when it met again after noon forcing Speaker Meira Kumar to announce adjournment for the day.
The BJP, which has been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has now said that it will let parliament function if the allocations are cancelled and a fair probe is ordered over the government auditor’s report alleging irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks.
The monsoon session of parliament, ending Sep 7, has seen its proceedings lost to BJP protests on the issue during the last two weeks.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a report has quantified that the nation has lost around Rs.1.85 lakh crore ($37 billion) in coal block allocations to private players.