New Delhi March 23:
Accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of "misleading" the House by claiming that MPs were not bribed during the July 2008 trust vote, the main Opposition BJP moved a privilege motion in the Lok Sabha.
The privilege notice was submitted by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj. The motion was supported by the Left parties as well. As soon as the notice was submitted, Lok Sabha witnessed noisy scenes and the BJP-led NDA staged a walk-out. The Rajya Sabha saw similar pandemonium before being adjourned for the day as members from both, the Opposition and ruling benches raised the pitch against each other.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley slammed the government for refusing a discussion, saying the government had lost the confidence to rule. Earlier during the day, the Union Cabinet met here to discuss the government’s strategy to counter the BJP’s privilege motion against PM Singh in connection with the WikiLeaks expose. The BJP had said it will move the privilege motion against PM for "misleading" the House by refuting that any payoffs were made to MPs for garnering the support during July 2008 trust vote, whereas the Parliamentary probe committee said that money was paid.
Incidentally, in a counter-attack, the ruling Congress has declared it will move a privilege motion against Swaraj for allegedly defying Speaker Meira Kumar previous week by trying to seek clarifications from the Prime Minister after his statement on the cash-for-vote issue. As per Parliament rules, clarifications cannot be sought from a minister or the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha after he/she makes a statement on the demand of the Opposition. This provision is there only in the Rajya Sabha. BJP-led NDA will also demand a discussion in Lok Sabha under Rule 193 (which does not entail voting).
Meanwhile, the government has agreed to hold a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the WikiLeaks expose over the cash-for-votes scam. According to official sources, the discussion would be held in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday as Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari has listed it in the afternoon. However, no decision has yet been taken on the notice for a privilege motion by the BJP against the Prime Minister accusing him of breach of privilege for misrepresenting facts about the findings of the parliamentary committee which probed the cash-for-votes scandal.
The Prime Minister had last week told the Parliament that the WikiLeaks revelations on the 2008 trust motion which claimed that MPs were paid off by the Congress to vote in favour of the Indo-US nuclear deal trust vote, was not verifiable. The opposition had been up in arms against PM’s comment and had demanded a debate over the same.
Accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of "misleading" the House by claiming that MPs were not bribed during the July 2008 trust vote, the main Opposition BJP moved a privilege motion in the Lok Sabha.
The privilege notice was submitted by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj. The motion was supported by the Left parties as well. As soon as the notice was submitted, Lok Sabha witnessed noisy scenes and the BJP-led NDA staged a walk-out. The Rajya Sabha saw similar pandemonium before being adjourned for the day as members from both, the Opposition and ruling benches raised the pitch against each other.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley slammed the government for refusing a discussion, saying the government had lost the confidence to rule. Earlier during the day, the Union Cabinet met here to discuss the government’s strategy to counter the BJP’s privilege motion against PM Singh in connection with the WikiLeaks expose. The BJP had said it will move the privilege motion against PM for "misleading" the House by refuting that any payoffs were made to MPs for garnering the support during July 2008 trust vote, whereas the Parliamentary probe committee said that money was paid.
Incidentally, in a counter-attack, the ruling Congress has declared it will move a privilege motion against Swaraj for allegedly defying Speaker Meira Kumar previous week by trying to seek clarifications from the Prime Minister after his statement on the cash-for-vote issue. As per Parliament rules, clarifications cannot be sought from a minister or the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha after he/she makes a statement on the demand of the Opposition. This provision is there only in the Rajya Sabha. BJP-led NDA will also demand a discussion in Lok Sabha under Rule 193 (which does not entail voting).
Meanwhile, the government has agreed to hold a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the WikiLeaks expose over the cash-for-votes scam. According to official sources, the discussion would be held in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday as Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari has listed it in the afternoon. However, no decision has yet been taken on the notice for a privilege motion by the BJP against the Prime Minister accusing him of breach of privilege for misrepresenting facts about the findings of the parliamentary committee which probed the cash-for-votes scandal.
The Prime Minister had last week told the Parliament that the WikiLeaks revelations on the 2008 trust motion which claimed that MPs were paid off by the Congress to vote in favour of the Indo-US nuclear deal trust vote, was not verifiable. The opposition had been up in arms against PM’s comment and had demanded a debate over the same.
