Lalu abstains, NDA walks out

Speaker asks Railway minister to make a statement on accident today

Both the Houses of Parliament saw walkouts by the Opposition, with the Lok Sabha adjourning for the day over the fact that Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was not present in the House to make a statement on the Hoshiarpur rail accident and was in Bihar preparing for a political rally.

Ministers did not fare well in the Upper House as well, with not a single Cabinet-rank minister present in the Rajya Sabha, which prompted the Opposition to stage a walkout in the afternoon.

Question hour proceeded smoothly in both the Houses, but as soon as ministerial reports were tabled, VK Malhotra (BJP) demanded a statement from the railway minister on the accident.

When it became obvious that Prasad was not present in the House, former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee took the floor and demanded a statement from Prasad or at least to know where the minister was.

"This is a matter for the people. The minister should be here. Is he at the site of the accident or in Bihar?" said Vajpayee. Till Prasad made a statement "the House will not be satisfied," he said.

The Opposition members then rushed to the well of the House demanding Prasad's presence. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Minister of State for Railways R Velu was prepared to make a statement. But the Opposition said since Prasad had been to the site, a statement was demanded of him.

The Opposition continued to protest. When Azad said the railway minister had not made a statement because the Opposition had been boycotting him, Malhotra said an assurance had been given to Prasad that his statement would be heard patiently.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee then called Vajpayee, LK Advani, Malhotra, Pranab Mukherjee and Azad for a meeting, which failed to resolve the issue. The House was then adjourned for lunch. After the lunch, the decision to adjourn the House for the day was announced, with the railway minister asked to make a statement the next day.

Malhotra told reporters that Prasad's non-availability in Parliament a day after the rail accident showed that he "was more interested in running the Bihar government than in the functioning of the railway ministry".

Taking exception to the absence of even a single Cabinet minister during zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, Sushma Swaraj (BJP) said, "the first and primary responsibility of a minister is towards Parliament during a session".

"The absence of any legislative business, the absence of Cabinet ministers during zero hour and the style of reply all reflect a total non-seriousness towards Parliament. They are taking Parliament for a ride and are not at all serious about parliamentary work," she told reporters.

After a fairly quiet session so far, the Opposition today had the government in a corner. A relief for the BJP was the return of Vajpayee to the centrestage of Parliament.