NEW DELHI: The impasse in Parliament, particularly the washout in Rajya Sabha, is boiling down to a tussle between the unflinching stands taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. An apology or an explanatory statement from the PM is ruled out by the treasury and Sonia Gandhi would not settle for anything less.
She would not have the former PM Manmohan Singh’s named sullied, a senior Congress leader said. The reason why the Congress moved an adjournment motion under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha on Friday—otherwise considered a ‘private member’s’ day.
The raj-hatth (or royal stubbornness) accusation the Congress brought against the PM on Friday for not agreeing to withdraw the ‘Pakistan/treason’ accusation, thus cannot be restricted to the ruling side. The Congress leadership has been equally adamant, despite both the presiding officers, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu and Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, refusing to allow the raking up of an election remark in Parliament, TMC’s Derek O’Brien lamented.
Javadekar’s new phone
HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar created quite a splash in Parliament by carrying a purple landline receiver on his shoulder. The old-style telephony mechanism, a day after the 2G verdict caught everyone’s attention. The Minister, however, claimed, he was only trying to save himself from harmful radiation of mobile phone. The purple receiver was attached to his cell though.
Cyclone funds
While the DMK was busy celebrating the 2G verdict and the acquittal of its MP Kanimozhi and former minister A Raja, the AIADMK made it a point to raise the people issue. Demanding a whopping J9,300 crore central aide for Cyclone Ockhi, the party MPs in Lok Sabha insisted they would not settle for anything less.