Situation in parliament worrisome: Bansal
August 10th, 2011 - 5:39 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Terming the disruptions in parliament “sad and worrisome”, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal Wednesday said the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) needed to think whether they wanted to keep the institution relevant.
“We need to think if we want to maintain the relevance of parliament or want to finish it,” Bansal told reporters, referring to the BJP.
He said that while the winter session was stalled earlier because of the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G scam, the monsoon session too was being disrupted by the opposition even after the government had agreed for discussions on all issues.
“The situation is sad and worrisome because now we don’t even know what the opposition wants. In this session, since the first day, we have told them we are ready for discussion on any issue they want,” Bansal said.
“We have many bills… it is the prime responsibility of parliament to draft legislations. Only one legislation has been passed in each house… eight days have passed.
“Even though there was a consensus that the house has to run, work could not be done. I can only say it with grief that I don’t know where the opposition wants to take parliament,” Bansal added.
Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned Wednesday as BJP members protested against the crackdown on the party’s youth wing activists a day earlier.
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Tags: activists, affairs minister, bansal, consensus, crackdown, disruptions, eight days, grief, Lok Sabha, monsoon session, New Delhi, opposition, parliament, parliamentary affairs, parliamentary committee, pawan kumar, prime responsibility, rajya sabha, relevance, winter session