Contrasting the manner in which the Congress handled their ‘‘non-cooperation’’ with George Fernandes with the BJP’s boycott of Parliament, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the current impasse could only end if the Opposition party agreed to come forward for a discussion and debate.Speaking to The Indian Express, Mukherjee said: ‘‘We are appealing to them; let them come, debate and discuss. We, too, demanded that George be dropped but then PM A.B. Vajpayee did not listen to us. But we did not boycott Parliament. We did not co-operate with him. Whenever he used to speak, we used to walk out quietly. We did not put to him any questions but at the same time did not prevent others from doing so.’’He, however, clarified he was not advocating such ‘‘non-cooperation’’ by the BJP in the case of Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav. ‘‘I am not suggesting that. And they have already done that partly when the rail budget was being presented. They walked out. I am only appealing to them to come forward and sort matters out.’’Describing BJP president L.K. Advani as a senior leader who has ‘‘tremendous control’’ over his party, Mukherjee said should he decide to come forward for a discussion, the BJP would listen to him. ‘‘That is why the PM also spoke to him. After all, people have elected you to function, not to remain outside Parliament. If you want to clap, you need two hands.’’Recalling the BJP’s obdurate stand since the UPA came to power, he said: ‘‘BJP has created problems from day one. They obstructed Parliament from the time the PM was to introduce the ministers. Last year, the Budget Session went without debates or discussions. The Winter Session was more or less peaceful but from the beginning of this session, they started obstructing Parliament again.’’ As far as the demand for dropping tainted ministers was concerned, he said the BJP only had its own dictum to follow. ‘‘We are quoting Vajpayee’s observations that merely framing of charges or filing of chargesheets is not enough for dropping someone.’’
