New Delhi, July 6
The BJP-led NDA, which had boycotted the Railway Budget today, has decided to give up its strategy of stalling Parliamentary proceedings on the issue of “tainted” ministers with effect from tomorrow and decided to focus its protest mainly against “one representative tainted minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, in an appropriate manner.”
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the NDA MPs here, in which a five-member committee was constituted to decide on the mode of protest.
Even as the Committee, comprising V.K. Malhotra, S.S. Ahluwalia, Sushma Swaraj, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi, would be submitting its suggestions tomorrow, sources said the NDA could adopt the same style of boycott as adopted by the Congress, RJD and some other opposition parties against former Defence Minister George Fernandes when NDA was in power.
“Unlike the Congress, the Communists and the RJD, who frequently disrupted the proceedings of the House during the six-year long rule of the Vajpayee Government, the NDA believes in the smooth functioning of Parliament... the NDA will perform its duty conscientiously,” a two-page resolution adopted at a specially convened meeting of the NDA MPs said.
Later, addressing a press conference, Leader of the
Opposition L.K. Advani said the NDA MPs, while condemning the “arrogant” and “brazen manner” of the Congress-led UPA Government, had felt that the proceedings of Parliament should be allowed and important issues should be forcefully discussed.
