New Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister PK Bansal said on Thursday the opposition is deliberately stalling Parliament as part of its strategy to avoid a discussion on the allocation of coal blocks.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been blocking proceedings in parliament with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over faulty allocation of coal blocks.
"They have wasted two days. Had the house been running, there would have been a fruitful discussion. They are working as part of a pre-decided strategy to avoid a discussion on the issue," Bansal told reporters here.
The minister said that the BJP has put a question mark on the democratic process in the country.
"All other parties but BJP are ready for a discussion in parliament. They just don't want the house to run," Bansal said.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid hit out at the BJP saying it had reason to fear a discussion.
"If they raised a question, they should have the patience to listen to the answer. Why are they scared of a discussion on the issue," asked Khurshid.
He denied that the government was under pressure, and said it was doing its duty.
The house was adjourned for the second successive day Wednesday over the Comptroller and Auditor General report on coal blocks allocation.
India's official auditor last week revealed that the lack of transparency in the allocation of coal blocks to private players resulted in the loss of a whopping Rs 1.85 lakh crore (USD 37 billion) to the exchequer as of March 11 last year.
IANS
First Published: Thursday, August 23, 2012, 11:53