Don't 'institutionalise' instability in Parliament: Pranab

Worried over the sharp slowdown in the economy, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday appealed to political parties not to 'institutionalise' instability in parliament.

Replying to a discussion on the Appropriation bill in the Rajya Sabha, Mukherjee assured the house that the government would try to build a broad consensus on reforms.

"Let us not institutionalise instability in parliament," the finance minister requested the opposition, which has been disrupting both houses right through the ongoing winter session. "The government will not be found lacking in building consensus on broad economic policies."

Mukherjee's plea came on a day when the Indian rupee plunged to an all-time low closing of 53.23/24 to the US dollar and just a day after government came out with figures relating to the index of industrial production, which contracted by 5.1 per cent for October (See:  Rupee hits 53.40 a dollar as stock markets turn choppy).

"We have the capacity and resilience to overcome the crisis," Mukherjee told the Rajya Sabha. But for the economy to recover, parliament and other institutions should be allowed to function without disturbance, he added.

The brief winter session of parliament has been a virtual washout during the first three weeks, with the BJP-led opposition storming into the well of the house and preventing its functioning. While the BJP initially demanded an adjournment motion on black money, the CPM sought an adjournment motion on price rise.