Lok Sabha logjam continues for third day
23 Aug 2012
After being at the receiving end of the opposition fire in parliament for two days, the government today hit back and sought to keep the BJP and the Left in the dock over their opposition in 2005 to the auction of coal blocks.
BJP members, who have been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over CAG's findings on extension of undue benefits to the tune of Rs1.86 lakh crore on coal block allocations, rushed to the well in both Houses renewing their demand.
Countering the opposition offensive, Congress members in the Lok Sabha were seen in the aisles waving copies of newspapers and raising slogans against the BJP. The reports in the newspapers said the BJP, in 2005, had told the centre that auction of coal blocks will hit the industry.
Turmoil broke out as members of opposition and treasury benches clashed, with Congress members insisting that it was the BJP which had opposed auction of coal blocks and was blaming the centre for it.
Members of the JD (U), key NDA constituent, did not join the BJP members in the well. While the BJP has been aggressively demanding the resignation of Singh, the JD(U) has been calling for a debate.
Speaker Meira Kumar had called for the Question Hour, but was forced to adjourn the House till noon amid the din, while the Rajya Sabha witnessed ruckus the moment chariman Hamid Ansari took up the first item on the listed business.
