NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE
Statement

Constituent parties of the National Democratic Alliance are distressed at the allegation that the Opposition is responsible for disrupting the proceedings of the Lok Sabha in the current session of Parliament. Unmerited criticism is also heard that the Opposition has shown disrespect to the Speaker.

Facts belie these allegations. Barring one episode, both Houses of Parliament have functioned smoothly during the truncated winter session. The blame for truncating the session must lie with the Government, which had not made adequate preparation for the legislative business of the two Houses.

The sole cause for the Opposition protest on December 15, leading to adjournment of the Lok Sabha, was the absence of the Railway Minister, who shirked his responsibility to make an obligatory statement in Parliament on the horrible railway accident in Punjab, the previous day, in which 38 passengers had died. It was a deliberate and arrogant act on the part of the minister to flout his accountability to Parliament. The Opposition was entirely justified in demanding a statement from the minister.

It is unfortunate that the Speaker, in his subsequent statement on the adjournment of the Lok Sabha, did not even mention the name of the Railway Minister, even though the latter's deliberate absence in the House was the real and the sole cause of the adjournment.

Records show how, and how many times, the Congress and the Communists parties disrupted parliamentary proceedings during the NDA rule, most often on completely unjustified grounds.

The NDA is committed to contributing to a consensus approach to ensure smooth functioning of the two Houses of Parliament. Towards this end, a delegation of leaders of the constituent parties of the NDA will soon call on the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.