NEW DELHI: Both houses of parliament were adjourned for the day Tuesday following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) vociferous demand for the recall of Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal for appointing the Lokayukta without consulting the state government.
The two houses saw repeated adjournments on the issue with the BJP members in the Lok Sabha raising the issue soon after the house met in the morning and in the Rajya Sabha after the question hour.
The Lok Sabha saw two adjournments before being adjourned for the day following persistent protest by BJP members.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned three times before its adjournment for the day.
The demand for Beniwal’s recall was made by senior BJP leader L.K. Advani in the Lok Sabha and Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha.
Advani alleged “violation of federal structure” in the appointment of Justice (retd) R.A. Mehta as the state Lokayukta by the governor.
“We will go to President Pratibha Patil to demand the recall of Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal,” said Advani, adding that the appointment of the Lokayukta was done without consulting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
He said the governor should be impartial and should appoint the Lokayukta on the advice of the chief minister and the council of ministers.
The party had given notice to suspend question hour to raise the issue.
The house was first adjourned till 12 noon after BJP members rushed towards the speaker’s podium.
The unrest continued after the house met following the adjournment.
The chair allowed Advani to complete his speech amid disruptions from Congress members. However, noisy scenes continued and the house was then adjourned till 2 p.m. When the house reassembled, BJP members were again on their feet raising the issue. Satpal Maharaj, who was in the chair, adjourned the house for the day.
In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley demanded recall of the Gujarat governor.
He alleged that the constitutional crisis in the state had been “created at the behest of people in power in New Delhi”.
If the central government succeeds in the appointment of the Lokayukta without consultation of the state government, the precedent would be repeated in every state, he said.(IANS)