BJP sticks to its demand for PM's resignation
BS Reporter / New Delhi Aug 26, 2012, 00:14 IST


The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to stick to its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation in the coming week, with senior party leaders seeming determined not to give an exit route to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Sources said BJP leaders felt they had waged a war against corruption and each political party, irrespective of ideology, would have to decide whether it would support the UPA government on the issue, or side with the Opposition in protesting against the alleged acts of corruption

Though members of the UPA government are trying hard to convince the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to withdraw its demand for the prime minister’s resignation and allow Parliament to function, sources say BJP leaders don’t want to accept the argument, as they believe any discussion on the issue of allocating coal blocks would not yield any result. “We are not fighting alone; we have the support of some political parties. When such a major battle is on, all political parties will have to take a stand and decide which side they are on,” said Arun Jaitley, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
While the Union government is trying to convince the BJP leadership to let the prime minister make a statement in Parliament before he leaves for a three-day visit to Tehran for a Non-Aligned Movement summit, BJP leaders are not ready to budge.

“Sometimes, obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefit for the country. Former telecom minister A Raja had resigned because of pressure by the Opposition. Similarly, the Union government had agreed to set up the joint parliamentary committee on the 2G spectrum allocation scam because of the BJP’s continuous pressure,” Jaitley argued.

The BJP leadership has asked Sushma Swaraj, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to hold discussions on the matter with all parties in the Opposition. Swaraj, along with other senior party leaders, is expected to discuss the matter with Left parties, the Biju Janata Dal, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party to convince them to join the BJP in demanding the prime minister’s resignation.

Senior BJP leaders had also met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek her support, but Banerjee did not favour the proposition.

Chidambaram hits back


Hitting out at BJP for disruption of Parliament on coal block allocations issue, Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram on Saturday asked the party why it was not ready for a debate, daring it to face questions on allocations made during the NDA rule.

“If the BJP has such a strong case, why don’t they debate the subject in Parliament?” he said, reacting to BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s criticism of the government and his assertion that his party is in no mood to allow Parliament to function till its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation is met.

Mr. Jaitley told a press conference in Delhi on Saturday that a nationwide debate was on on the coal block issue though it was not taking place in Parliament. “Our strategy does not permit that we allow the government to use Parliament to end this debate without any accountability. We want the debate to go on further,” he had said.

“That is what I would like to ask them,” Mr. Chidambaram said. “Why debate the issue on television? Why not in Parliament? Why doesn’t he [Jaitley] raise the issue in Parliament?” He also wanted to know whether the BJP was prepared for a debate on the coal block allocations made during the BJP-led NDA regime between 1998 and 2004.

Replying to Mr. Jaitley’s criticism of his ‘no loss’ theory in regard to the coal block allocations, the minister said there is a potential gain when coal is mined and sold.

“Where is the presumptive loss or gain when mining has not taken place?” he countered.

BJP terms no-loss theory "preposterous," sticks to demand for PM resignation

Undeterred by the growing unease among sections of the Opposition on the continued disruption of Parliament over the coal blocks allocation, the BJP has made it clear that it will stall proceedings in both Houses until its demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is met.

On Saturday, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said that in the battle against the “monumental corruption,” all parties, including the ruling UPA allies, must decide on which side of the fence they were on. He was responding to a question at a news conference here whether his party was isolated because of its strategy to disrupt Parliament. “Those who keep silent will do a greater damage than those actually involved.”

By fielding Mr. Jaitley, the BJP has sent out a loud and clear message: it will not relent on its demand even if it means the washout of the monsoon session, which will end on September 8.

All parties are worried that if a way out is not found by Monday, the chances of Parliament functioning next week are limited.

The Prime Minister will leave for Tehran on Tuesday to take part in the NAM Summit and will be back only on August 31.

Mr. Jaitley came down heavily on Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for his defence of the government, terming his explanation “preposterous.” “These repeated propounders of the zero loss theory must now realise that the UPA is losing the confidence of the people. If they pursue policies of this kind, the UPA’s continuation in power with this kind of performance is really a zero sum game of the UPA itself.”

Recalling the zero loss analogy used by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal in the 2G spectrum case, Mr. Jaitley said Mr. Chidambaram had not learnt his lessons from Mr. Sibal’s bitter experience and “has tried to take it further.”

As for Mr. Chidambaram’s contention that the question of loss did not arise at all as the blocks were not mined, he said that once the allocations were made, the value of the 142 blocks skyrocketed in the market. “Once the blocks are allotted to private parties, the right to mine lies with the allottees and not with the government of India. Even without … mining, the government has lost control of these mines.”

The government’s decision conferred windfall gains on private parties and caused a corresponding loss to the exchequer. “The coal, which is a mineral under mother earth, does not belong to Mr. Chidambaram’s government but to 142 private entrepreneurs.”

Instead of admitting that a monumental blunder has been committed, the government was inventing “such kind of fragile logic … to mislead the country.” “Is this kind of logic an indication for which they want a parliamentary debate? And then paralyse the PAC with this kind of logic so that the truth never comes out?” he asked.

On the BJP’s decision to disrupt Parliament, Mr. Jaitley said the strategy did not permit it to allow the government to use Parliament to end this debate without any accountability. “There are occasions when obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefit to the country.”

PM may address nation Monday on coal scam: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress Saturday expressed hope that the BJP will allow Parliament to function Monday and indicated that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may address the nation on the issue of alleged coal scam if the proceedings of the two houses were disrupted again. 

Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said the Bharatiya Janata Party's stance of demanding the prime minister's resignation was "ridiculous".

"It is completely misrepresenting the CAG report," Dikshit said. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a report to parliament last week said that lack of transparency in allocation of coal blocks to private players resulted in a notional loss of Rs.1.85 lakh crore ($37 billion) to the exchequer.

Dikshit said the BJP was not allowing the prime minister to speak on charges concerning the CAG report.

Asked if the prime minister could address the nation if the BJP continued to disrupt proceedings Monday, Dikshit said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram spoke about the possibility of the UPA government finding a way out.

Dikshit, however, added he did not know what decision the government will take.


Chidambaram told media persons Friday that if the prime minister is not allowed to speak in the house Monday, the government will have to find a way for him to speak to the country. The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave for Iran Tuesday on a three-day official visit to attend the Non Aligned Movement summit Aug 30-31.

Congress sources said Speaker Meira Kumar had called a meeting of political parties Monday to find a way out of impasse in parliament over the BJP's demand for the prime minister's resignation and successive disruption of parliament last week.