New Delhi, Aug 28 (ANI): With proceedings in Parliament being disrupted for the sixth day on the coal blocks allocation issue, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) lawmaker and politburo member Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday held both the ruling Congress Party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) equally responsible for the deadlock.
Yechury said it was a matter of great regret that Parliament was not functioning smoothly.
" We know that both the Congress and the BJP are responsible for this. The government is equally responsible to see that the house functions as that of the presiding officers. We want the Parliament to function and the 'match-fixing' between the two parties should be stopped," said Yechury.
"We are absolutely dissatisfied with the Prime Minister's statement because he has not answered the main points," he added.
BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy, however, came in strong defence and reiterated his party's stand of not letting the house function unless the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, puts down his papers.
"Well, it is nothing very amusing if the House is not being run, because we cannot allow the house to run, just to legitimise the issue of corruption by a mere debate. We saw a debate on Commonwealth Games (scam), what happened?" said Rudy.
"Do the people remember what happened in the Parliament? Do they remember what happened in the 2G scam, where one lakh seventy six thousand crores was defalcated," he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disrupted Parliament proceedings for the sixth day today by creating uproar over coal block allocation issue and pressing for the Prime Minister's resignation.
Dr. Singh, who is facing sharp criticism from the opposition over the CAG report on coal block allocations, earlier on Monday said that his 'silence is better than a thousand answers, as it keeps intact the honour of innumerable questions'
"Hazaron jawabo se achchi hai khamoshi meri, na jaane kitne sawalo ki aabru rakhe," said Dr. Singh, asserting this has been his 'general attitude'.
"It has been my general practice not to respond to motivated criticism directed personally at me," he added
The Prime Minister also rejected the CAG's observations as 'misleading' and 'flawed', and blamed the opposition parties for thwarting the efforts of his government to bring a policy of competitive bidding.
Dr. Singh, who spoke both inside Parliament as well as outside, took 'full responsibility' for the decisions taken by the Coal Ministry whose charge he directly held for some time and asserted that at 'any allegation of impropriety is without any basis and unsupported by facts'.
The BJP has held the Prime Minister, who then held direct charge of the coal ministry, responsible for what has been estimated as a notional loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crores by the CAG in coal block allocations, and demanded his resignation.
The CAG report on coal block allocations states that nearly 150 coalfields were allotted to private and state-run firms without transparency and objectivity between 2005 and 2009. (ANI)
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