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Journalism of Courage
Does the Budget session hold anything new or will MPs churn out tired old debates? It is heartening that a legislator himself was moved to ask this question. When the Upper House reassembled after lunch, debate 8212; as if often does on Raisina Hill these days 8212; turned to disinvestment, this time of HPCL and BPCL. As old arguments were trotted out, Dipankar Mukherjee of the CPM made a politically incorrect though patently warranted observation. Do you have anything new on the subject, he asked Pranab Mukherjee of the Congress, or are you just repeating yourself once again? To everyone amazement, the Congressman responded with a confession. I feel like a parrot, he kept parroting, talking of disinvestment. But still I8217;ll repeat my submission, he finished courageously.
Confession Chamber
Ending the blues
India war with Zimbabwe 8212; on the field! 8212; on Wednesday, and that match was on Lok Sabha members8217; minds. The Speaker, a well-known cricket enthusiast, decried the attacks on the homes of cricketers. 8216;8216;They should be given protection so that their minds are free and they do better,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;We wish them good luck.8217;8217; And thereupon took notice of Somnath Chatterjee8217;s suggestion that this greeting and the reassurance that the entire nation was with them had better be conveyed to the men in blue in Harare. Kirti Azad, the cricketer in their midst, threw in his two-bits and asserted that no additional pressure should be put on the team: Let the weary eleven figure out their own batting order.
Perils of an oil spill
Minister of State for Finance Anandrao V. Adsul may have assured the Rajya Sabha that a possible war on Iraq would have a negligent effect on the Indian economy, but the oil-pool slick is growing increasing costly. India8217;s crude oil import bill has jumped by about Rs 9,125 crore in the first nine months of current fiscal, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply. He, however, cushioned his estimates by asserting that India has stocks of crude oil to last two months.
Deepa dasmunsi has reason to smile
The Opposition members do not trust their wives, if BJP MP Bijender Pal Singh is to be believed. At least that is what he said on the floor of Lok Sabha when Congress chief whip Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was arguing against amending Representation of People Act, 1951, to allow proxy voting rights to the armed forces personnel. 8216;8216;You are opposing proxy voting, that means you don8217;t trust your wife,8217;8217; he said. Dasmunsi replied: 8216;8216;We not only trust our wives, we don8217;t treat them as subordinates. They have a mind of their own and we do not expect them to vote for us.8217;8217; He was cheered on by the women in the House 8212; Margaret Alva and Renuka Chaudhary. In fact, Chaudhary told Singh she would like to meet his wife!
Attendance register
Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat did not show up in Parliament on Tuesday to dispense his duties as Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
