Bihar continues to rock Parliament

Asserting that the Judiciary should remain within its limits, they urged the Chief Justice of India to ensure that the principle of separation of powers as provided in the Constitution was strictly adhered to. Raising the issue during the zero hour, Nitish Kumar (Samata) said the court’s observation reflected the existing law and order situation in Bihar.

The vituperative Bihar MP accused that the furore over CBI’s attempt to seek army assistance, to execute the arrest warrant against former Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, was just an excuse to remove these officials from the fodder scam probe.

Taking strong exception to the courts overstepping their limits, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi (Cong) said such a tendency did not augur well for the future of democracy.

“A high court cannot direct imposition of President’s rule in a state nor the Supreme Court ask the Prime Minister to resign. If we approve of this, then we are surrendering our rights,” he said, adding CBI should not have directly approached the army.

Jaswant Singh (BJP) was of the view that the two issues – the CBI seeking Army’s assistance and the High Court’s remarks – were being mixed up and pleaded with the members not to create a situation which could lead to a confrontation between the Legislature and the Judiciary.

He said the government should react to the court’s observation and should refrain from taking any measure, even inadvertantly, that could thwart investigations into the scam.

He suggested that a full-fledged discussion should be held on role of Judiciary vis-a-vis Executive and Legislature.

Jaswant Singh described CBI’s move seek to army’s help as a “procedural mistake,” while observing that the high court’s remarks were outside its jurisdiction and did not call for a statement from the government.

Former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar warned that the Judiciary should not transgress beyond its bounds. “The House should condemn the Patna high court’s observation and the Chief Justice of India should take corrective steps,” he said.

Chandrashekhar’s remarks brought BJP members to their feet. Ghuman Mal Lodha and Rita Verma objected to his remarks saying he had at one time advocated the use of guns while demanding the arrest of BJP leader LK Advani.

The House erupted in verbal duals and Speaker P A Sangma had to repeatedly plead with the members to maintain decorum.

Expressing serious concern over the court’s remarks, Somnath Chatterjee (CPI-M) said separation of power was being obliterated day by day.

Disapproving the CBI’s action of seeking army help, Chatterjee said the government had taken a correct stand by instituting an inquiry into the circumstances.