Speaker called meeting of NDA to break logjam

The move come in the backdrop of feelers sent by the NDA leaders and the Govt to resolve the BJP's "differences" with the presiding officer, reports Saroj Nagi.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has taken the initiative to break the logjam that was building up with the BJP's decision to boycott him and the Business Advisory Committee meetings. He has extended a written invitation to Leader of Opposition LK Advani and other NDA leaders for a meeting at 10 am.

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The move came in the backdrop of feelers sent by the NDA leaders and the Government to resolve the BJP's "differences" with the presiding officer even though the Speaker, constitutionally, is neutral and does not have any difference with any member or party.

Earlier, after the BJP disrupted proceedings and decided to boycott the BAC, Parliamentary Affairs Minister PR Dasmunsi said Leader of House Pranab Mukherjee would talk to the Opposition leaders to find "a way out" of the imbroglio. He added that it was not only the responsibility of the Speaker and the government but also of the Opposition parties to end deadlocks.

Dasmunsi criticised the BJP for trying to"isolate"the Speaker from the UPA by disrupting proceedings and said that the main Opposition would not succeed in its ploy despite its repeated allegations that the veteran leader was being partisan.

"I strongly maintain that he is the most accommodative Speaker, more than the Speakers of the NDA regime. He even went out of his way to allow the BJP to raise the issue of Rajnath Singh's arrest," he said.

Dasmunsi alleged that the BJP's slogan of 'mandirvahin banaenge' was a "negation of the collective declaration" made by the NDA that they would abide by the judicial verdict in the Ayodhya case. "Let Advani openly say they will not abide by the verdict and let the nation judge them on it," he said.

Other Congress leaders also alleged that the BJP always raised the Ayodhya issue before each election to polarise society.

In this context, it was pointed out that UPA MPs were getting agitated that while verdicts were being delivered in the 1993 Mumbai blast case, the outcome of the Babri Masjid demolition probe was being delayed.

Email Saroj Nagi: snagi@hindustantimes.com