By IANS
New Delhi : Political oneupmanship and continuous interruptions by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition over the India-US nuclear deal may force early adjournment of parliament’s ongoing monsoon session.
With a belligerent BJP steadfastly opposing the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) decision to form a 15-member committee to examine the nuclear deal, several important issues on the agenda like the government’s contentious decision to import wheat, a report on the socio-economic condition of Muslims and the nuclear pact, may have to wait.
According to parliament insiders, there are indications that parliament may be adjourned ahead of schedule as the BJP-led opposition Wednesday made it clear that it would not allow the two houses to function unless the government formed a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to discuss the nuclear deal.
Parliament was scheduled to adjourn on Sep 14.
BJP leader L.K. Advani spelt out the futility of the proposed debate and his party’s participation in the forthcoming parliamentary proceedings.
“They (government) have already pre-empted the debate. If they had said after the debate that they have decided to set up a committee then there was some sense in the debate,” he said.
“We would have liked a proper debate but first of all why did they announce this mechanism? The mechanism has pre-empted the debate.”
Sensing the BJP’s aggressive stand and its intention to stall proceedings, the government on its part has advanced the debate on the nuclear deal Thursday in the Rajya Sabha, according to parliamentary affairs minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi.
The nuclear debate was originally planned in the Lok Sabha for Monday next and a day later in the Rajya Sabha.
Dasmunsi indicated that the government would go ahead and list all the items of business as planned and was not keen to adjourn parliament prematurely.
“The government has requested the chairman of Rajya Sabha to list the nuclear debate for Thursday. As for the Lok Sabha, the Left parties motion on price rise is pending and we leave it to the honourable speaker to decide the date and time of the nuclear debate in the Lok Sabha.”
On the BJP’s demand, the government categorically said the JPC could not discuss the nuclear deal as it was a bilateral agreement for which parliament’s ratification or approval was not required.
The opposition, which had disrupted the proceedings last Friday on the same demand, also stalled the proceedings of both houses on Wednesday.
While the opposition questioned the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) decision to form a 15-member committee to address the concerns raised by its Left allies on the nuclear agreement, the government argued that it was an “internal arrangement to sort out the differences among the coalition”.
“It is not a family or private affair between the Congress and the Left,” former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu said in Bangalore.
The Left parties ridiculed the BJP demand.
“The JPC is a mini parliament. The BJP has accepted the speaker’s ruling that it (the nuclear deal) was an issue that need not be ratified by parliament. Then how can they ask for a JPC?” wondered Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Basudeb Acharya.
Acharya and his party claimed that the BJP and its allies were “deliberately” trying to disrupt parliament’s proceedings by forcing repeated adjournments.
“We want the house to function. We have several issues to discuss. But time and again, the opposition blocks its smooth functioning,” CPI-MP Mohammed Salim contended, pointing out that the BJP had forced early adjournments of the last two sessions.
Salim went to the extent of saying that an early adjournment of the current session would suit both the government and opposition.
“Sometimes it is convenient for both of them,” he said, adding that the BJP’s actions had “helped the government to divert attention from several key issues that may rock it.”
“We wanted to raise the government’s decision to import wheat and the token follow-up report on the action taken on the Sachar committee report on the Muslim community,” Acharya said.
“The government has decided to import wheat at about Rs 1,600 per quintal, which is about 88 percent more than the MSP (minimum support price) of Rs 850 per quintal. The government could not increase the procurement price for Indian farmers but it is ready to pay the US and Australian farmers,” Acharya alleged.
“The BJP does not want to discuss all these issues. They want to disrupt the house on flimsy grounds,” he added.
Some Left leaders privately said the government and the opposition were hand in glove. “An early adjournment suits both of them,” said a CPI MP.