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Parliament adjourned, petrol pump issue rocks Houses

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

A determined Opposition forced the adjournment of both Houses of Parliament on Monday, demanding that the 'petrol pump scandal' be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation or by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned within minutes after it convened at 1100 hours as agitated Opposition members - particularly Nilotpal Basu of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who repeatedly waved the newspaper carrying the details of the alleged scandal at deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah and was warned for his behaviour.

Heptullah also warned another Opposition member not to point a finger at her, saying, "I am not involved (in the scam)."

She said the members could have a debate on the issue since Union Petroleum Minister Ram Naik would be reading out a statement pertaining to his clarification on the controversial issue.

However, the Opposition members persisted with their loud protests, forcing Heptullah to adjourn the House for the day.

The Lok Sabha too witnessed chaos as the Opposition demanded the resignation of the petroleum minister on moral grounds over the alleged scam.

Congress member S Jaipal Reddy could be heard shouting above the din that the Opposition had given notice for the suspension of the question hour for discussing the issue.

He said a news report had alleged even a relative of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had been allotted a petrol pump, and thus the matter was serious.

Reddy's senior party colleague and its chief whip in the house Priyaranjan Das Munshi later told reporters that his party, along with others in the Opposition, were determined to get at the bottom of the issue. They would not rest until the scam was probed by the CBI or a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, he said.

Congress Rajya Sabha Suresh Pachauri said the prime minister's relative allegedly being allotted a petrol pump was only 'the tip of the iceberg.' He demanded that the entire list of those allotted petrol pumps since June 12, 2000 be tabled in Parliament.

With Congress president Sonia Gandhi urging her party members to relinquish petrol pumps allotted to them on the official quota, it is now clear that the Congress is determined to go for the government's jugular on the issue.

Bharatiya Janata Party chief M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters on Sunday that Naik would be making the statement on the alleged scam in a bid to mollify the Opposition which seems only too eager to put the government on the mat.

The Opposition, however, did not allow Naik to make any statement in Parliament.

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