Lalit Modi row, Vyapam scam rock Parliament

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 22

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday threatened to initiate disciplinary action against Congress MPs, who wore black bands to the House and carried placards to the Well to protest the role of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the Lalit Modi issue.

"I am pained to see MPs flout rules of procedure and wear black bands and carry placards. I advise them to follow the discipline of the House. Otherwise, I would be constrained to take disciplinary action against the erring MPs,” Speaker said as Congress members, including party vice-president Rahul Gandhi came to the House sporting black-arm bands and protested in the Well forcing two adjournments of proceedings until 2 pm.

The Congress ruckus started at 11 am when the House convened for the day and the Speaker rejected adjournment motions moved by Mallikarjun Kharge and other opposition leaders, who wanted to discuss Lalit Modi and the Vyapam scam.

While the Congress' motion related to the Lalit Modi row, Left wanted to debate Vyapam.

Upon rejection of notices of adjournment, opposition MPs stormed the Well causing the first disruption.

The House resumed at 12 noon only to be dismissed again until 2 pm.

Speaker's threat of disciplinary action cut no ice with the Congress whose MPs continued to display placards that read: “Bada Modi mehrbaan to chhota Modi pehelwan”.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi backed her colleagues and was seen disapproving of the Speaker's call of disciplinary action against protesting members.

Earlier in the day, the Congress cancelled the protest earlier planned in Parliament House amid reports that they wanted other opposition parties also to join.

The protest cancellation by the Congress came within minutes of Sushma Swaraj tweeting that she would name in Parliament a Congress leader, accused in the coal scam, who asked her for travel document relaxations.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sushma were in the House this morning when the Congress raised the Lalit Modi issue to seek Sushma's resignation for aiding the ex-IPL boss, who is absconding from Indian law enforcement agencies.

The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned thrice in the pre-noon session after uproar over the Lalit Modi row and Vyapam admission and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh.

As soon as obituary references were made, several opposition parties, including the Congress, BSP and the Left, insisted that no debate was possible without the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje following their alleged involvement in the controversy over former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. They also raised the issue of Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh.

The ruling BJP members wanted a discussion on the Lalit Modi issue to be initiated immediately saying they did not want the opposition members to speak on the adjournment motion they had moved on these issues.

Amidst slogan shouting by the opposition members and heated exchanges between them and those from treasury benches including by ministers, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien first adjourned the House for 15 minutes and then again till noon.

At noon when the Question Hour was taken up by Chairman Hamid Ansari, the opposition members continued the uproar forcing the third adjournment of the House.

Earlier, Finance Minister and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley defended Swaraj asking opposition to point out one provision of the law which she has violated in allegedly trying to help former IPL commissioner.

Mayawati (BSP) attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the episode had exposed those who had claimed that "na khaoonga, na khane doonga" (I will neither take bribe nor will I allow anyone to take it).

Soon after the obituary reference, Satish Chandra Misra (BSP), Naresh Agarwal (SP), Tapan Kumar Sen (CPI-M) and D Raja (CPI) said they had given notices under rule 267 to suspend business to take up discussion on Lalitgate and Vyapam scams.

Jaitley said the Vyapam issue was "squarely a state issue" and if the Opposition wanted to change rule to "discuss state issues and set up new precedents", then issues ranging from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Goa should also be discussed. "So we will be fair to all states," he said. —With PTI inputs.