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Journalism of Courage
The spat between two Union ministers — Laloo Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan — rocked the Lok Sabha today as the Opposition pressed for a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
Prabhunath Singh of the JD(U), who raised the issue, said the two ministers were under a cloud of suspicion. Reading from newspaper clippings, he said Laloo had charged Paswan with involvement in the Rs 800-crore crane scam, while the latter had levelled similar charges against Laloo. He demanded that the Prime Minister make a statement to clarify the matter as people were curious to know the truth.
As agitated RJD members moved towards the Well, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee told them to return to their seats. The RJD stopped there, but all of them continued to argue with the Opposition. The BJP members got up in support of Prabhunath and insisted upon a statement by the PM.
The Speaker pointed at Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and said, ‘‘The Leader of the House is here’’. It was for him to decide if he wished to respond to the Opposition demand.
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Cong MPs told to set attendance example
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• NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi here on Tuesday expressed her concern over the poor attendance of her party members in Parliament ‘‘particularly in the afternoons’’. |
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Sushil Kumar Modi, Prabhunath Singh and other Opposition members started shouting slogans: ‘‘Pradhan mantri jawab do.’’ The slogan-shouting from both sides continued for some time.
BJP member Harin Pathak said it was a serious matter. It was the first time since Independence that two Union ministers traded such charges against each other on corruption.
BJP deputy leader V.K. Malhotra requested the Speaker to ‘‘direct’’ the Government to make a statement. As both sides seemed to cool down a little, the Speaker told P.C. Thomas not to speak out of turn. As Thomas still tried to speak, Chatterjee said: ‘‘You are defying the Chair… I will name you’’. He said, ‘‘Anybody deliberately defying the Chair will have to face the consquences… Don’t think I will remain a silent spectator. Let the people of this country know. This House is not mine, it is yours and you have to run it.’’
Earlier, he also had a running argument with NTC member Mamata Banerjee, who wanted to speak on price rise. He told Banerjee she had not given him any notice. As Banerjee still insisted on speaking, the Speaker told her the price rise issue had been already discussed.
