JOIN USProtesting against the Union Government’s decision to send a team to assess the law and order situation in the eastern State, the agitated MPs of the Left parties, SP and the BSP tried to stall the proceedings of both Houses.
The Left parties also got unexpected support from the BJP, with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L K Advani, cautioning the government against the misuse of Article 356 of the Constitution. Advani, however, did not forget to remind the Left MPs that they had supported the imposition of Central rule in some BJP-ruled States in 1992.
Pandemonium prevailed in the Rajya Sabha with the BJP and Left MPs, led by Arun Jaitley and Sitaram Yechury respectively, protesting against what they termed as the Centre’s move to dislodge the Left Front government. They were also joined by the SP members. Chairman Hamid Ansari had to adjourn the House twice due to noisy protests.
In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar carried on with the Question Hour even as some of the SP and Left MPs came to the well of the House and started shouting slogans, demanding that the Centre immediately recall the team. She, however, adjourned the House after the Question Hour.
Home Minister P Chidambaram later told the Houses that the Centre did not want to confront the Left government. “The move to send Central team should not be viewed through the prism of Article 356,” he told the Lok Sabha, after making a similar statement in the Rajya Sabha.