The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and AIADMK on Wednesday managed to blunt the attack mounted by Congress and CPI (M) on two Union Ministers – Smriti Irani and Ram Shankar Katheria – by pushing for a discussion in Lok Sabha on the Aircel-Maxis deal, after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took the House’s consent and gave them the go-ahead.
Soon after the day’s proceedings began, AIADMK members trooped to the Well of the House, demanding a discussion regarding a report in an English newspaper alleging that former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s son, Karti, had invested in real estate across the world.
AIADMK has demanded an urgent CBI inquiry into the case, alleging that the Aircel-Maxis deal had links with the 2G scam. They returned once Mahajan promised a discussion after Question Hour.
They were joined by CPI (M) and Trinamool Congress members, who shouted, “You allowed Arjun Meghwal (BJP) to read out his motion on Monday. Allow us too.”
The Speaker relented after TMC leader Sudip Bandhyopadhyaya urged her to allow Congress members to speak on the issue to “strengthen democratic functioning” of the House, but expressed her displeasure at slogans being shouted against her. “I have not said no to anybody,” she insisted.
Irani under fire Congress and Left members then accused Irani of using the House to “mislead” the nation with her “totally blatant untruth” during her reply last week on Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide in the Hyderabad Central University.
KC Venugopal (Congress) cited the subsequent response of the Hyderabad health official to claim that she made “false” comments, adding that a book that Irani said was allowed by the then HRD Minister Kapil Sibal was discontinued in 2001 “long before he became a minister under the UPA government”.
Salim said, “What the Minister said was blatant untruth. Will you allow the House to be used to mislead the nation?” Ranjeet Ranjan (Cong) dared Irani to read her letter in full in the House, adding that every MP helps people in their constituencies.
She took a jibe at Irani by pointing out the difference between an “elected member” and a “selected member”. Irani had lost in the last Lok Sabha polls from Amethi and is now a Rajya Sabha member.
Later, pandemonium broke out when Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue of Katheria’s controversial remarks at a public meeting in Agra, allegedly directed at Muslims.
The Speaker disallowed him to speak amid protests by Treasury benches and adjourned the House briefly. She later allowed BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab to initiate a discussion on the Aircel-Maxis issue. Participating in the two-hour discussion, TJ Venkatesh (AIADMK) repeatedly referred to two former DMK Union ministers and a former Finance Minister in the UPA-II government by name, despite Speaker Sumitra Mahajan disallowing it.
Black money issue Venkatesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had come to power on the promise of unearthing black money, but his government was doing little to punish those behind the “shady” Aircel-Maxis deal.
The discussion began amid loud protests from the Congress, Trinamool and the Left, as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had allowed a discussion on the issue when a Motion of Thanks for the President’s Speech was still being debated.
While Congress members termed it as “match-fixing” between a section of the Opposition and the government, BJD’s Mahtab later told reporters that it was the Congress that broke a precedent by calling for a discussion on the Rohith Vemula issue on February 24.