BJP to rake up PC's role in Aircel-Maxis issue again

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over the government's response to the Aircel-Maxis controversy, allegedly involving Home Minister P Chidambaram's family members, and said it would demand a discussion on the issue in both Houses.

At the weekly BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley briefed the members about the Aircel-Maxis issue. Members agreed that the replies given by Chidambaram and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee were not satisfactory, party sources said.

Party leader Yashwant Sinha is likely to move a notice in the Lok Sabha, demanding discussion on the issue under Rule 193 that does not entail voting. BJP members in the Rajya Sabha are also planning to raise the matter in the House, they said.

The BJP MPs also felt that the Lokpal Bill should be brought in the Rajya Sabha in this session itself for passage. The party will put pressure on the government to do so, the sources said.

BJP Parliamentary Party chief L K Advani was not present at the meeting today as he is unwell, they said.

Lok Sabha members Shahnawaz Hussain and Sumitra Mahajan also spoke on the alleged inaction of the Delhi government in rehabilitating nearly 2,500 asylum-seekers from northern Rakhine state in Myanmar, who have been living in Vasant Kunj area for more than a week.

These refugees have pitched tents in front of the 13th century Sultan Garhi monument, an Archaeological Survey of India-protected structure. The locals are opposing their presence in the area.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had earlier stated that the land occupied by these refugees belonged to the Delhi Development Authority and not the Wakf Board as claimed by some quarters.