Author: Pioneer News Service
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: July 29, 2008
'Supporting Women's Reservation Bill only
exception'
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has
decided not to support the "illegitimate" Manmohan Singh Government
in carrying forward its economic reforms agenda.
Leaders of the main Opposition -- including
the BJP, Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal, Biju Janata Dal, Janata Dal (U) and
others met here on Monday and asserted that the new Government which would
come to power after the next parliamentary elections should take this process
forward.
Chidambaram had recently indicated that the
Government would try to seek the cooperation of parties outside the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) in taking forward the economic reforms that had
hit a dead end because of the stiff resistance from the UPA's previous allies
-- the Communists.
"This Government is immoral.. It survived
because of cross-voting. We have decided not to support any of its economic
reforms agenda," senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said. The Women's Reservation
Bill would be an exception, she clarified.
The NDA leaders also decided against resigning
en masse from the Lok Sabha, saying they would fight the Government "in
and outside Parliament". Swaraj said, "There is no question of turning
our back on our responsibility as the main Opposition."
Senior BJP leaders also maintained that there
was no plan to move a no-confidence motion against the UPA Government, which
proved its majority in Parliament just six days back, and Lok Sabha Speaker
Somnath Chatterjee, who has been expelled by the CPI(M).
The NDA also took strong exception to the
committee formed by the Speaker to look into the allegations of three whistle-blower
MPs, saying that it (the committee) did not represent the character of the
House and many major political parties had not been duly represented.
"There already is an 11-member ethics
committee. While seven of them found places in the new committee, four have
been left behind. Either hand over the matter to the ethics committee or include
the left-over members also in the new committee," Swaraj demanded.
Deputy leader of the BJP in Lok Sabha Vijay
Kumar Malhotra, who is a member of the committee formed by Chatterjee, would
soon meet the Speaker to discuss the issue of including the four left-over
MPs in the team.
The NDA also decided to oppose any move by
the Government to delay the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament, saying
it should ideally have been convened in July and was already a month behind
schedule. "Many important matters have to be discussed. We want the session
to be convened immediately. The Government should not delay it any further,"
Swaraj said.
