Parliament stalled again on PNB fraud, Andhra issue

New Delhi: Both Houses of Parliament saw repeated adjournments for the second consecutive day Tuesday amid an uproar by Opposition MPs over the PNB bank fraud, a special package for Andhra Pradesh and demands to set up a Cauvery Water Management Board. The mood of the Opposition parties was visible from early morning as they were protesting outside the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament complex over these issues.

In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition members sought the Prime Minister’s response on the banking sector frauds, while the parties from Andhra Pradesh persisted in their demand for special status. Besides the major Opposition parties, NDA ally Shiv Sena protested in the Well of the House demanding classical language status for Marathi.

Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the government was ready for a discussion on the alleged financial irregularities in the banking sector and finance minister Arun Jaitley will reply to the debate. He added: “This is the second part of the Budget Session. We have to pass the Finance Bill and demands for grants. If the House runs peacefully, everyone can raise their issues. I can’t understand why the Congress Party is irritated... The government is ready for a discussion... I can’t understand why the Congress is opposing it,”

In the Rajya Sabha, a visibly upset Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu was seen requesting the protesting members, including those of the TDP, Congress, TMC and AIADMK, to allow the House to function, but his requests went unheeded. The Upper House saw two adjournments till 2 pm. MoS parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel told the agitating members that the government was ready for a discussion. Before adjourning the House, Mr Naidu remarked that he “does not approve of this sort of tactics” and that protesting members were denigrating democracy and making Parliament a laughing stock in the eyes of the people. “This is proving the public impression... Parliament is not conducting itself in a dignified manner,” he said, before adjourning the House till 2 pm.

Earlier, Trinamul Congress members raised slogans demanding that the alleged mastermind of the banking fraud, Nirav Modi, be brought back to the country, while AIADMK and DMK MPs carried placards demanding the constitution of a Cauvery Water Management Board for division of Cauvery waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The TDP and a Congress MP demanded the implementation of a special package for Andhra Pradesh to make up for the loss after a separate Telangana was carved out. “This is not the way. This is Parliament... not a bazar,” said Mr Naidu, but his remarks went unheeded.

The Congress has been demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak on the issue of bank frauds. The Opposition members plan to continue with their agitation on Wednesday as well.