M A I N   N E W S

Din over Q ends in Houses
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 1
With Rajya Sabha chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat taking the lead to end the impasse in Parliament over the Quattrocchi issue, four days of stalemate in Parliament ended today after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the two Houses that he did not hold any press conference exclusively on the issue and he had no intention to overlook Parliament.

In a statement in the two Houses, which witnessed adjournments today with the opposition persisting with its demand that the Prime Minister explain why he had made observations on the issue outside Parliament, Singh said he had no intention to bypass Parliament.

He said some newspersons had approached him to get his reactions on the Assembly elections and in the process somebody had asked a question on Quattrocchi's arrest in Argentina to which he said CBI would take care of it.

Giving details of Shekahwat's initiative, Deputy Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj told newspersons that the Upper House chairman had called the Prime Minister and the minister of parliamentary affairs Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi in his chamber and had discussed ways to end the stalemate in Parliament.

After the meeting in Shekhawat's chamber, a series of meeting between the UPA and the NDA leaders took pace in which external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Suresh Pachauri, Dasmunshi, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh, BJP Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha V.K. Malhotra, JD (U) leader Prabhunath Singh participated.

It was agreed between the two sides that the leaders of opposition in the two Houses would raise the Quattrocchi issue and then the Prime Minister would present his version, Swaraj said.

It was also agreed up on that a detailed discussion on the Quattrocchi issue would be held any day after March 7 when one month of the Italian businessman in Argentina would be over, Swaraj said.

Sources in the UPA said the ruling alliance impressed upon the opposition that it would be better to avoid a debate on the Quattrocchi issue now as it could weaken the case of his extradition in Argentinian court.

The Prime Minister’s clarification came after Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani made some observations on the continuous stalemate in the House.

Advani said he came to know about the detention of Quattrocchi, main accused in the Bofors pay off case, on the evening of February 23 but later on came to know through the media that he was in fact detained by the Argentinian authorities on February 6.

“Why did the government hide this from the country and from Parliament? the matter did not find a mention even in the President’s address,’’ he said.

The BJP leader said so far in India, 14 Lok Sabha elections had been held and every time one or the other issue was in focus which turned out to be the main political agenda in that election.

He said in the 1977 election, emergency was the main agenda, in 1984 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination was the main focus and in 1989 Bofors issue was the main election agenda.

He said it was during the NDA government that they requested the Interpol to issue a red corner notice for the arrest of Quattrocchi and as a result he was detained.