Coalgate: Another stormy Parliament session; both Houses adjourned till noon

Aug 22, 2012, 11:51AM



New Delhi: The Parliament logjam over debate on coal block allocation continued for the second day that resulted into the adjournment of both the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.  

According to reports, Rajya Sabha was adjourned again till noon when chaos continued over coal block allocation after the Upper House reconvened on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, on the expected lines, the Opposition created ruckus and stalled the functioning of the Parliament following which both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned.

Both the houses witnessed a stormy session with the main Opposition party BJP sticking to its demand of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the CAG report on coal block allocation.

On Wednesday morning ahead of the Parliament session, BJP decided to stall the House over coal allocation scam. The decision was taken after a Parliamentary meet called ahead of the session.

"We do not have any confidence in the government, we will continue to demand for PM's resignation," said BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu after the meet.

A prolonged confrontation in Parliament over the alleged coal scam looms large as the NDA has threatened to further disrupt proceedings.

However, the government too appeared adamant rejecting Oppositions demand on PM's resignation. "PM will not resign just because the BJP wants him to resign," Union Minister Farooq Abdullah said. 

Meanwhile, the PM is likely to make a statement today about allegations that coal blocks were not allocated by way of auction causing a whopping loss of Rs 1.85 lakh crore.

On Tuesday, the two houses could not transact any business as they were adjourned following uproarious scenes over 'coalgate'.

On a day when both the houses of Parliament were rocked by the CAG report on coal allocation suggesting a loss of Rs1.86 lakh crore, the Prime Minister said "satisfactory answers" would be given to all issues if a debate was allowed.

Government was also caught in another controversy when Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla was heard whispering to Kurien to adjourn the Rajya Sabha following the Opposition uproar.

---