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Samajawadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's allegation on Thursday that the government was impotent ( namard ) elicited a stout defence from former prime minister Chandrashekhar during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.
Intervening in a supplementary question asked by the Samajwadi Party chief, Chandrashekhar told the Speaker that Yadav's allegation that " Yeh sarkar namard hai, yeh ugrawadiyon ko nahin rok sakti" (This government is impotent, it cannot control militancy) should not be misinterpreted.
Chandrashekhar pointed out that the words " namard sarkar " were not unparliamentary, as ruled by Speaker G M C Balyogi, because "the Supreme Court and the Election Commission had allowed namards (eunuchs) to participate in the polls."
The former prime minister's intervention appeared to take the Speaker by surprise although Balyogi did not pursue his earlier ruling that the usage was unparliamentary and should be expunged from the records.
Chandrashekhar pointed out that Yadav meant that the government was ineffective and a derogatory meaning should not be interpreted.
The Samajwadi Party chief while attacking the government wanted Defence Minister George Fernandes to clarify why it was unable to control militancy in Jammu & Kashmir.
Fernandes earlier told the Telugu Desam Party's A Narendra that attacks in J&K had not decreased significantly. This was because since the government's cease-fire in November last year, the army and security forces had been instructed not to carry out cordon and search operations if it adversely affected the Kashmiris.
The defence minister pointed out that Islamabad's role was known to the world and that it would continue supporting militants in the state.
Fernandes said that while the "government's intention" was to talk to Pakistan, Islamabad was not interested in creating a congenial atmosphere for a dialogue.
He said that from January, 2000 to February this year, 748 people had been killed in J&K. Between January and February this year, 185 lives had been lost, he added.
Replying to a question from senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia, Fernandes said a lot of rumours were being spread about the role of the army in J&K and this had an adverse effect on its morale.
He refuted Scindia's allegation that despite the ceasefire, infiltrators from across the boder kept entering J&K.
According to Fernandes, the infiltrators had made 54 attempts to sneak through but had been repulsed.
Also, the government's peace initiatives compromised of a strategic plan for controlling militancy and ushering in peace in the state, the defence minister added.
ALSO SEE The J&K cease-fire: Complete coverage
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