Parliament adjourned as opposition protests over PNB fraud
NEW DELHI : The second part of Parliament’s budget session begins on a stormy note with the opposition ready to corner the government on the issue of bank frauds. As both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha meet after a month-long recess, the multi-crore PNB bank fraud and other financial scams are likely to dominate the proceedings in both the Houses.
The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Monday as soon as they met for the second part of the budget session of Parliament amid opposition protests over the Punjab National Bank fraud and special status to Andhra Pradesh.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon after Trinamool Congress and Left party MPs started shouting slogans in protest against the alleged bank fraud amounting to over Rs 12,600 crore by jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi who have fled the country. TDP MPs also protested seeking special category status to Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra issue also let to adjournment of the Rajya Sabha.oooo
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day as the opposition protests over the Punjab National Bank fraud and special status to Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon after Trinamool Congress and Left party MPs started shouting slogans in protest against the alleged bank fraud amounting to over Rs 12,600 crore by jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi who have fled the country.
The second part of Parliament’s Budget Session is off to a rough start, with opposition MPs in both Houses disrupting proceedings over the PNB scam. Oppn MPs, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Naresh Agarwal and D Raja, have given notice in the Upper House for a discussion.
The BJP is likely to counter the attack with the allegations against Karti Chidambaram, the son for former finance minister P Chidambaram. BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe has given notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss allegations against “relatives of former ministers”, a reference to Karti who is currently in CBI custody in the INX Media case.
In the Rajya Sabha, both the BJP and the Congress have moved adjournment motion notices on issues the parties say must be discussed immediately, setting the tone for a stormy second half of the budget session.
The BJP wants to debate “reports of corrupt practices indulged in by relatives of former ministers under tacit protection by ministers,” after the arrest last week of Congress leader P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram. The Opposition has demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on how jeweler Nirav Modi defrauded the public sector Punjab National Bank (PNB) and fled the country under his watch.
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Union minister Piyush Goyal said today that PNB bank scam involving Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi “is connected to Congress”. “The problem started during their time. They cannot mislead the nation on this issue,” he said.
Congress leader Anand Sharma, who has moved the Congress notice said, “We will demand answers from the government on the bank fraud scam. We will also demand answers from PM Narendra Modi as the scam happened right under his watch.”
The government is seeking to dull the opposition’s offensive by bringing to parliament in this session the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, a proposed law to punish people accused of committing financial crimes in India and then fleeing the country as Nirav Modi and liquor baron Vijay Mallya have done.
The BJP’s counter-offensive is the attack on the Congress over Karti Chidambaram’s arrest in a corruption case from when his father P Chidambaram was Union Finance Minister in the Congress-led UPA government.
The BJP-led government continues to face pressure from ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, which alleges that the state has been shortchanged in the union budget this year. TDP lawmakers protested seeking special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
The government will likely push for the passage of the bill to make instant “triple talaq” a criminal offence. It has proposed up to three years in jail as punishment for a Muslim man who seeks to divorce his wife by saying “talaq” thrice. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in the last session but was stalled in the Rajya Sabha as the opposition sought changes.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets a grand welcome as he arrives in Parliament…He joins the celebration of party’s emphatic victory in Tripura and impressive performance in Nagaland and Meghalaya polls.
The BJP, which is energised after its emphatic victory in Tripura and impressive performance in Nagaland and Meghalaya polls, is likely to adopt an aggressive posture in Parliament. (With Agency Inputs).
