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Bush visit stirs hornet's nest in Parliament
March 02, 2006 17:20 IST
The visit of the US President George W Bush [Images] Thursday stirred a hornet's nest in Parliament with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a key United Progressive Alliance [Images] constituent, joining outside supporters the Left, Samajwadi party and the Bahujan Samaj Party in protest amid demands that both Houses must be taken into confidence over pacts inked by the two countries.

While the issue of the agreement reached between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] and George W Bush did not figure in the Upper House, which returned to normal business after an adjournment during Question Hour, the matter was raised by agitated Left members in the Lok Sabha. RJD's Raghunath Jha and Ram Kripal Yadav said in Lok Sabha that Iran and Iraq were old friends of India and their party associates with the Left in protests against the visit.

Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' (Janata Dal-United) sought to embarrass allies and constituents of the UPA saying they should withdraw support to the government if they were serious in the matter and accused them of indulging in mere "shadow boxing". He said the JD-U too opposed the visit.

BJP members M A K Swain and Ratilal K Verma criticised the Left and its allies for the manner of protest and said the US was a friend of India which boasts of tradition of treating a guest as god. Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi said he will convey their concern to the prime minister who will apprise them of what had happened during the visit.

Rejecting charges that the government had compromised sovereignty, he said the situation the world over had changed and the government invited guests to the country keeping in view national interests and keeping aside political and ideological views.

Complete coverage: The Bush visit

 


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