MPs
frustrated over parliament logjam, but toe party line
Friday December 10, 2010 05:38:29 PM,
Sudeshna Sarkar,
IANS
|
New Delhi: With the
winter session of parliament set to end without transacting any
business because of a bitter government-opposition standoff, many
MPs are simply frustrated. Some of the younger parliamentarians
are unhappy they are not able to do any parliamentary work since
the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been badly crippled for
three long weeks over the 2G spectrum allocation row.
But no one is willing to challenge the diktat of their own
parties.
Ashok Tanwar, the Congress member from Sirsa in Haryana, said a
lot of people felt that time, money and energy were wasted by
daily adjournments.
"We are first-timers and are here to learn," Tanwar told IANS. "It
is a totally different kind of learning experience. We are really
frustrated at times."
Probed further, he sided with the government, whose refusal to
announce a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the
spectrum row has led the opposition to parlayse parliament.
The Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav, elected from Badaun in
Uttar Pradesh, said the opposition wants parliament to function
but the government was adamantly refusing to accept "our demand
for JPC".
"Our demand is in the national interest. JPCs have been
constituted on lesser scams. The government is guilty somewhere,"
Yadav said.
At the heart of the controversy is disgraced former communications
minister A. Raja, who quit the cabinet last month after being
accused of giving away 2G spectrum at below the market price,
causing huge losses to the national exchequer.
At least one Lok Sabha member, K. Mani of the Kerala Congress (Mani),
fears that the stalemate -- unprecedented in Indian parliamentary
history -- may extend to the next budget session too.
But Mani is keeping himself busy. "Parliament or no parliament,
there is no dearth of visitors for me," said Mani, a management
graduate.
"Even without parliament work, my days are busy. I spend a lot of
time accompanying delegations (from Kerala) to government offices
here to speed up developmental projects," he said.
No parliament also means that Mani can catch up with reading --
his hobby.
P. Rajeev, a Rajya Sabha member from the Communist Party of
India-Marxist (CPI-M), squarely blamed the Congress for the
logjam.
"Our days are still full," he said. After protests that last till
noon, he gets busy with party work.
What does he think of the loss of taxpayers' money due to the
deadlock? "That loss is just a drop in the sea of corruption
linked to major scams."
The opposition, whose members every day troop towards the
speaker's podium raising slogans, says it is the government that
is at fault.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Shahnawaz Hussain said the
opposition was not keen on getting the houses adjourned.
"The strength of the opposition is reflected when the house
functions. Adjournments help the government," he said.
But if the opposition did not press for a JPC, the government will
not accept the demand, he added.
"They will continue to indulge in corruption and keep ignoring the
house. We are not in parliament to clap for the government."
Some opposition members pointed out that even a section of the
ruling alliance is slowly speaking in favour of a JPC.
P.T. Thomas of the Congress felt that the opposition's aggression
was tarnishing the image of parliament.
"Already there is much scepticism among the public about the
functioning of parliament and the level of politics we indulge
in," he said.
But he praised the Congress decision asking MPs not to accept the
daily allowance from parliamnet since no work was being
transacted.
"It was the right decision," Thomas said.
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