Parliament adjourned over ‘quit PM’ demand

New Delhi  :  Both houses of parliament were adjourned amid uproar for the seventh successive day Thursday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) persisted with its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over coal block allocations.

When the two houses met at noon after an earlier adjournment, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after transacting some business amid the din. The Rajya Sabha also conducted some business before it was first adjourned till 2 p.m. and then for the day.

The Lok Sabha passed the Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill, 2012 and AIIMS (Amendment) Bill 2012 before adjourning for the day.

BJP members were on their feet in both houses demanding the prime minister’s resignation over the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on coal block allocation.

The BJP has been forcing adjournments of the house since last week over this demand. It has also sought cancellation of the coal block allotments on the basis of the CAG report and an inquiry by a special investigation team into the allocations.

The BJP and Congress have been going hammer and tongs at each other during this stalemate.

The efforts of presiding officers to break the logjam have not yielded results.

The Samajwadi Party, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Telugu Desam Party Thursday came together to press for normal functioning of the two houses as also a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the coal block allocations.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, CPI-M leader Basudeb Acharia, CPI’s Gurudas Dasgupta and TDP’s Nama Nageswara Rao told mediapersons that they would stage a demonstration in parliament house complex Friday to press their demands.