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Opposition forces adjournment over RSS membership

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day after Opposition members led by the Congress today demanded a discussion on their adjournment motion on the decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat to lift the ban on state employees participating in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's activities.

The Opposition in the Lok Sabha stalled business leading to its adjournment soon after it reassembled after lunch.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned following a forty-minute sitting in the post-lunch session after members expressed their resentment on the alleged lathi charge on striking lawyers today.

Earlier, both Houses of Parliament had been adjourned till 1400 IST as slogan-shouting Congress and other Opposition members stalled proceedings in protest against the ban on government employees participating in RSS activities being lifted in some states.

In the Lok Sabha, even before the house assembled, Congress members were seen soliciting the support of CPI-M and Samajwadi Party members to put up a joint protest. While the Opposition benches were full, the attendance on the Treasury benches was sparse. The arrival of Speaker G M C Balayogi itself was greeted with slogans against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the central government.

The speaker pointed out that he would permit raising the issue only after question hour. But the Opposition refused his request. However, they relented to the chair's plea to allow a reference to the presence of the Moroccan prime minister and parliamentary delegation in the special boxes. Order was restored till the reference was made.

But soon, almost everybody in the Opposition benches stood up to demand the suspension of question hour to draw the attention of the House to the RSS issue. Leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi was the lone member who continued to remain sitting. Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia conveyed his party's sentiments to the chair.

The speaker reminded them that the members themselves were against suspension of the question hour even to present the Union Budget next week. As such, he could allow discussion on the RSS issue only after the questions were taken up, Balayogi said.

But Congress members Ramesh Chennithala and Suresh Kodikunnil, along with the Samajwadi Party's Phoolan Devi, trooped into the well of the house and started shooting slogans. Soon the well was full of protesting members. At this point the speaker adjourned the house and walked back to his chamber.

In the Rajya Sabha also uproarious scenes were witnessed, as almost the entire Opposition demanded suspension of the question hour to discuss the Union government's failure to convince the Gujarat government to withdraw its circular allowing government servants to participate in RSS activities.

As soon as the house assembled, leader of opposition Manmohan Singh appealed to chairperson Krishna Kant to suspend question hour to discuss the issue.

However, leader of the house Jaswant Singh said the government was not fighting shy of having a discussion on any issue but the house should not be ''held at ransom.''

''The attempt to seek suspension of the question hour is to get over the great embarrassment we are going to cause to the Congress party by way of election verdict,'' Singh said, and added the house could discuss all aspects of the issue during the discussion on the President's address and that a separate discussion was not required.

Refusing to accept the plea of leader of the opposition to suspend the question hour, chairperson Krishna Kant said, ''I cannot suspend the question hour. I am fulfilling your decision,'' he said and recalled that three years ago the house had adopted a unanimous resolution 'an agenda for India' in which it had been stated that the question hour was indispensable. ''The suspension of question hour will go against the spirit of the resolution and weaken Parliament,'' he observed.

Not satisfied with the chairperson's ruling, almost the entire opposition members stood up demanding the suspension of question hour.

Earlier, Congress leader Manmohan Singh asserted that the RSS issue was a fit case for discussion in the house. He quoted Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as having once said that for successful running of the democracy and parliamentary system of government as also for unity and integrity of the country, the civil servants should be kept aloof from the RSS.

Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) said democracy was at peril with the government employees being allowed to participate in the RSS's activities.

UNI

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