Parliament in turmoil over PMO's letter on Advani

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned today after opposition stalled work and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over a news report claiming the PMO had written to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in August 2005 asking why did it not act against Leader of Opposition LK Advani in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

The prime minister's reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha was lost in din with the opposition not allowing any business to be conducted. The Lok Sabha had earlier witnessed two adjournments with the opposition members trooping into the well of the House soon after the proceedings began.

In the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned for the day after two short adjournments, Leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh said the letter was a proof that the government was subverting independent institutions.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the government was undermining every institution. "The letter proves three things. That there is interference from the government in the CBI, that the PMO and the PM indulge in undemocratic practices by attacking the Leader of Opposition in such a manner, and the prime minister has been misleading the government over the level of interference in the CBI," he added.

BJP parliamentary party spokesperson V K Malhotra said the Congress was dropping CBI cases against its members like Arjun Singh, N D Tiwari and Sheila Dikshit but was forcing the CBI to pursue cases against the BJP leaders. "Satish Sharma, Arjun Singh and N D Tiwari are just a few examples of this attitude of the Congress-led government. In fact, the NDA government never tried to scuttle cases in such a manner," he said.

Despite the slogan-shouting, the Prime Minister continued to reply to the motion of thanks, which was cleared in the Lok Sabha.

Denying the charge that it interfered in the functioning of the CBI in the Advani case, the government said it was "duty bound" to take note of the observations of the Allahabad High Court.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said in July 2005, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had set aside a September 2003 order of the Rae Bareily trial court discharging Advani.

In its order, the High Court had observed that "the role of the CBI cannot be said to be unquestionable" and "had advised the CBI to introspect and to decide if it had lived up to its reputation and if any remedial action was required in its functioning to avoid criticism," Dasmunshi said.

Seeking information from the CBI in the light of serious observations by a High Court can by no stretch of imagination be construed as interference, Dasmunshi said.

"Asking for information is not interference," he said, adding that after the Rae Bareily court order, he had written to the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that the CBI had not presented the case properly.

"I learnt later that the then PM had also asked his office to seek a clarification from the CBI on this," said the minister.

Meanwhile, the debate on Iran nuclear issue, scheduled today, has been postponed to February 27.