By IANS,
New Delhi : Opposition and ruling MPs traded barbs Monday stalling parliament business over the alleged involvement of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in a multi-crore rupee fraud in allotment of kiosks in Chandigarh.
Both houses of parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, were disrupted as opposition MPs noisily protested and demanded the resignation of Bansal who they alleged, citing a probe report, spent the graft money on his election.
Bansal, the Chandigarh MP, however, denied the charges as a “baseless and cheap gimmick” and an effort to vilify him.
He questioned the veracity of the probe report by a former Chandigarh official, who is now a senior bureaucrat in Punjab, alleging irregularities in the allotment of small kiosks at subsidised rates, apparently as compensation for a fire at Bajwara market in Sector 22 in 1989.
BJP MPs led by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha, leading to suspension of the crucial question hour over the issue that was again raised repeatedly in the house amid din.
They were demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the scam that surfaced early this month after a 700-page inquiry report was submitted to the union territory administration.
The report has also named some serving and former civil and police officers for conniving with Bansal in protecting the “booth (kiosk) mafia” in the union territory.
“The financial dimensions of the fraudulent allotments run into crores of rupees, which include money being paid to the politicians, police officials and officers of the estate office,” said the report, prepared by Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer P.S. Shergill who was earlier posted as additional deputy commissioner in Chandigarh and has now been repatriated to his parent state Punjab.
Bansal denied the charges and dared the opposition to go for any “level of inquiry”.
“I have nothing to hide. In fact, that would be in my interest if any inquiry is conducted,” he said in an emotional statement in the house.
He said the official who probed the matter had not even spoken to him once during the year-long investigation.
“There are scathing remarks against me in the report. But the officer didn’t bother to take my point of view. Madam, it is an effort to vilify me. It is a conspiracy to tarnish my image. I am honest and clean. I have done nothing wrong.
“These are baseless charges, a cheap gimmick by those who have lost elections in Chandigarh. I had never thought they would stoop so low,” he said, challenging Sushma Swaraj to contest the next Lok Sabha election from Chandigarh.
“Come and meet me after three years. Let’s see who gets elected to the Lok Sabha from Chandigarh,” he said.
This further angered the opposition MPs, many of whom trooped towards the speaker’s podium, raising slogans to demand the minister’s resignation.
Meira Kumar then adjourned the house till 2 p.m.
When the house reassembled at 2 p.m., Sushma Swaraj objected to Bansal’s “cheap gimmick” remark calling it “unparliamentary”. Replying to his election challenge, the BJP leader said: “I will get you defeated by a local candidate. I need not contest to defeat you.”
Noisy scenes prevailed as BJP MPs walked down to the speaker’s podium demanding that the minister should resign.
As chaos prevailed in the house, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house till 3 p.m. This is was the third adjournment of the house for the day.
In the Rajya Sabha, BJP members S.S. Ahluwalia and Rajiv Pratap Rudy also raised the Chandigarh kiosk allotment issue during Zero Hour. Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan, who was chairing the session, said Chairman Hamid Ansari had not allowed their petition to raise the issue.
But the adamant BJP members trooped towards his podium prompting the chair to adjourn the house.