M A I N   N E W S

Vajpayee blames Congress
Govt adopting “adamant attitude’’
Tribune News Service and UNI

New Delhi, April 17
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today lashed out at the Congress for disrupting proceedings in both Houses of Parliament saying it was improper and undemocratic.

Exploiting the growing divisions within the opposition parties, the Prime Minister told the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that “except the Congress, all other parties were in favour of smooth functioning of Parliament whereas that party continued to obstruct the functioning of the two Houses which was improper and undemocratic.”

Briefing newspersons about the Parliamentary Party meeting, BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the Prime Minister informed the party MPs that all efforts were made by the government for ensuring smooth functioning of Parliament and all parties barring the Congress, were in favour of the effort.

Mr Vajpayee told members that while the demands like institution of a joint parliamentary committee or a CBI probe to go into the Tehelka issue could be brought into discussions and considered but the Government could not assure the Congress that Parliament would function only on the conditions put by it and hoped that it would allow normal functioning.

The Prime Minister said either of these investigations could be done on the basis of consensus arrived at from the debate in Parliament, Mr Malhotra said.

Defending Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the context of a strong attack on him by Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) chief Dattopant Thengadi, Mr Vajpayee said “A disinformation campaign appears to have been launched against the economic policies of the Government.”

Meanwhile, the Congress today accused the government of adopting an “adamant attitude” regarding the party’s two proposals on ensuring resumption of normal functioning of Parliament and said this showed an “attempt at a massive cover up” of the Tehelka expose.

The party also questioned the government’s right to unilaterally appoint a commission of inquiry headed by a retired Supreme Court judge into the episode when Parliament was in session without discussing its terms of reference with the opposition.

Briefing mediapersons here, party’s chief spokesperson S. Jaipal Reddy said, “As the main opposition party, the Congress had gone out of its way even at the risk of being charged with making a climbdown by making two proposals and had hoped the government would respond positively to it”.

He explained that the party took the step as it was keen to get the normal functioning of Parliament restored. The party was using every opportunity to discuss other issues like the telecom scandal and the stock scam, besides the Tehelka episode in Parliament but the government had not responded to it, he said.