Buoyed by the apparent success in the confidence motion in Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday, the Congress created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha over Uttarakhand issue and also took up the alleged issue of irregularities in Gujarat State Power Corporation’s (GSPC) KG basin gas project, thus forcing adjournment of the proceedings of the House.
Due to the disturbances in the House post-lunch session, consideration of the crucial Finance and Appropriation Bills was also postponed for Wednesday.
Congress members created a ruckus over the Government move to present the Uttarakhand Budget Bill even as the Centre insisted that it was a Constitutional necessity.
Amid the din in the Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien tried to initiate discussion on Union Finance Bill
but Congress leader Anand Sharma raised questions over the move to bring the Uttarakhand Budget Bill in the Supplementary list.
Even as no consensus over the Uttarakhand Budget issue appeared imminent, Congress member Jairam Ramesh raised the issue related to CAG report on GSPC. He said he had given a notice for a short duration discussion on the issue 11 days back but had got no response.
Agitated at the continuous ruckus by the Congress, the Treasury Bench members accused the Opposition party of “goondaism” and attempting to “hijack” country’s development by not allowing discussion on important Bills.
Amid noisy scenes, Kurien took up the Appropriation Bill for the discussion, which the Congress and the Samajwadi Party members sought postponement for Wednesday. Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan too rose and protested that she too had given a notice for discussion on women’s issue three months back and had got no response.
When BJP’s VP Singh Badnore rose to speak on the Appropriation Bill, leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad chided him saying, “First apologise for all wrong doings in Uttarakhand.”
Contending that the State Assembly had already passed its Budget, Azad’s deputy Anand Sharma said passing the Uttarakhand Budget is not the responsibility of this House” and termed it a “Constitutional impropriety.”
Slamming the “mental and moral bankruptcy of the Government”, Sharma also asked why the Uttarakhand Budget Bill had been brought in the Supplementary list.
leader of House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley responded by saying that the passing of the State Budget on March 18 was “highly contentious” as the arithmetic was highly loaded against it.
He emphasised that the order of appropriation has to be sanctioned by Parliament as all expenditure from April 1 has to be validated.
The Finance Minister said if the State Assembly revives, it can pass its Budget but insisted that the Bill has to be passed to provide sanction to all expenditure made since April 1, when the President’s Rule was in force. This, he said, has nothing to do with what happened in the floor test in the State Assembly on Tuesday.