New Delhi: Senior BJP leader L K Advani
was not amused with some of the party MPs joining RJD supremo
Lalu Prasad and SP chief Mulayam Singh to hold a mock
Parliament session and reprimanded his colleague Gopinath
Munde for participating in it.
Advani was not happy with Munde, Kirti Azad, Maneka
Gandhi, her son Varun and others BJP MPs from Lok Sabha
joining Prasad and Mulayam - with whom the party does not see
eye to eye on most issues - to hold the mock Parliament on
Friday.
While holding such a mock session shows disrespect to
Parliament, it also does not behove the main opposition to
indulge in such an exercise, BJP sources said.
Advani reprimanded Munde, who is Deputy Leader of BJP
in Lok Sabha, for agreeing with Prasad and participating in a
mock session. Munde had acted as the Speaker while Azad was
Leader of Opposition.
Munde reportedly tried to tell Advani that his party
colleagues were not siding with Prasad and Yadav on the salary
hike issue during this session and had only raised objections
to the manner in which the Indian Medical Council (Amendment)
Bill was passed in the din by a voice vote and without a
discussion.
However, Advani was not convinced with this argument
and felt no BJP MP should have participated in any such
session and the forum for protesting or highlighting any issue
is the real Parliament.
Unconfirmed reports said some of these MPs even wanted
to hold another session of the mock Parliament from 10 am to
11 am on Saturday, before the Lok Sabha met for the day, but
gave up the idea after BJP MPs backed out after Advani`s
reprimand.
As Speaker of the mock session, Munde had adjourned
the House till 10 am on Saturday.
Some BJP leaders said had Leader of Opposition in Lok
Sabha Sushma Swaraj been present on Friday, she would not have
allowed her party MPs to attend the "pretend Parliament". She
was away in Bellary.
Sources said other BJP leaders, including Leader of
Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, also did not approve
of this behaviour from some party MPs.
NDA Convenor and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav and
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have also openly condemned
the mock Parliament.
PTI