With questions being raised over subsidised food in Parliament canteen, some Elders including Samajwadi Party (SP) members on Monday claimed it to be a “well planned conspiracy” to tarnish the image of parliamentarians. Even the ruling benches said it was a serious issue which needed to be discussed right away. The Congress, however, did not agree with it and created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha over its ongoing protest on lalit Modi and Vyapam controversies.
Raising the issue soon after the House met for the day, SP leader Naresh Agrawal said there was a conspiracy to malign the image of MPs and asked the Government to come out with data about how many MPs avail of canteen facilities besides Parliament employees and mediapersons.
Taking exception to “no work no pay” remark by a Union Minister recently, the SP leader said parliamentarians are not employees and urged the Rajya Sabha to pass a resolution on the subsidised canteen facilities issue.
Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi took a dig at the treasury benches and said “no work no pay” principle should be applied from 2004 onwards in apparent reference to the BJP then disrupting proceedings in Parliament as the main Opposition party.
Meanwhile, agreeing with Agrawal on the subsidised food matter, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad termed it as “a very serious issue” as it involved the prestige of the House and proposed a discussion on the issue right away. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Government was ready for a discussion on the issue.
BJP member Vijay Goel said the subsidised canteen and “no work no pay” issues had gained currency due to the continuing logjam in Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon Session. He also claimed the general public was angry over such scenes. His statement drew sharp reaction from Congress members.
Concurring with the views of the MPs, Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said though the issue was “not unimportant” as it involved the image of the Rajya Sabha, he, however, could not allow a discussion since there was no appropriate motion in this regard.