New Delhi, July 26
In an aggressive posture towards the ruling combine, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders today decided to boycott all Parliamentary Standing and Consultative Committees to protest against what they described as the "confrontationist attitude" of the UPA government towards the opposition.
"The BJP-led NDA has decided to boycott all Consultative and Standing committees because of the negative and confrontationist attitude of the ruling party towards the Opposition," BJP Parliamentary Party spokesperson V K Malhotra told newspersons soon after a meeting of the leaders of NDA at former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's residence here.
"There are 50 to 60 Standing Committees and unless government mends its ways the NDA constituents will not participate in it," he said, adding this decision was applicable to all Parliamentary panels involving both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Mr Malhotra said the ruling combine's "negative and confrontationist" attitude was evident not only in its response to the Opposition's demand for the dismissal of "tainted" ministers but also the condemnation of the entire Opposition by the Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee on the day the Parliament was adjourned for a three-week recess.
Meanwhile, at the daily briefing at the BJP Headquarters, party General Secretary and former union Law Minister Arun Jaitley justified the NDA’s decision and sought to clarify that today’s decision should not be construed as an attack on the Chair.
