Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Friday for the same reason: the IPL controversy with Union minister of state for external affairs at its centre. In the Lok Sabha, the minister had to table his written ?personal explanation? after he was interrupted repeatedly by the Opposition?s clamour for his resignation. In the Rajya Sabha, he did not get even that far before the House was adjourned for the day.
In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House as Opposition members stormed the well and raised the pitch shouting ?Shashi Tharoor istifa do, Shashi Tharoor sharm karo.? The treasury benches were full, but Tharoor stood alone, with none of his party colleagues making any visible attempt to counter the Opposition offensive the way they routinely do in other matters.
At the very outset, in fact, Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal seemed prepared to concede to the Opposition. Sharad Yadav of JD(U), Basudeb Acharia of CPI(M), Murli Manohar Joshi and Gopinath Munde of the BJP were standing, but their protest was yet to gain momentum when Bansal said: ?I will inform the minister concerned. He will come at 12 (noon) and make a statement.? Sensing victory, the opposition became more belligerent.
Meanwhile, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav arrived in the House. He gestured to his party members to come into the well. BJP, JD(U) and Shiv Sena MPs followed suit.
The Speaker made an abortive attempt to go ahead with Question Hour, but adjourned the House due to turmoil. The statement came an hour later after the House re-assembled. However, normalcy eluded the House and the Speaker adjourned it for the second time.
The final adjournment came within a few minutes after lunch when the Opposition stuck to the demand for Tharoor?s resignation.
Matters did not get even this far in the Rajya Sabha as BJP deputy leader SS Ahluwalia and his party colleague Venkaiah Naidu insisted on a full-fledged discussion. Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Prithviraj Chavan told the Opposition that the minister was ready to make a statement. Deputy chairman Rahman Khan offered to allow a discussion during Zero Hour, but the Opposition, calling for a proper discussion, trooped into the well, forcing adjournment for the day.
The issue is set to rock the two Houses on Monday, with the Opposition declaring that it will stick to the demand for Tharoor?s head, and a clear reply by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on why he was keeping Tharoor in his ministry, preceded by a structured debate on the matter.
There seemed to be a clear attempt by the government and the Congress to maintain distance from the controversy. Though Bansal announced during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha that Tharoor ?will make a statement in the House before taking up private members? business,? he subsequently stated that he ?will give a personal explanation.? The statement mentioned Tharoor as an ?MP?.
Later, Tharoor read out the contents of his statement to the media but refused to take any questions. He said: ?I have not benefited, and do not intend to benefit, in any way financially from my association with the team now or at a later stage.? And, ?The notion that somebody is some sort of ?proxy? for me is frankly insulting to me and to the professionalism and business ethics of the investors and their associates, particularly since I could not have any role in influencing the final outcome of a sealed bidding process?.