By IANS,
New Delhi : The opposition Monday walked out of the Rajya Sabha protesting what it termed “the turnaround” in India’s stance on climate change, even as the government sought to assure the house that this was not so.
“There is no compromise on India’s national interest,” Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said during zero hour.
He added that the 25 percent cut in emissions intensity that India had announced were “purely voluntary and not internationally binding”.
“We were completely dissatisfied with this reply and are walking out,” said the leader of the opposition in the house, Arun Jaitley, who raised the issue. Immediately, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs walked out.
The BJP members were soon joined in by MPs from the Samajwadi Party, the Left and the AIADMK.
The Copenhagen climate change talks began Monday.