New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day Tuesday afternoon amid uproar over India’s stand on war crimes allegations during the closing stages of the war in Sri Lanka.
Members of the DMK, a government ally, joined the opposition in asking the government to clarify its views on the US-backed resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.
After the first adjournment, members of DMK and AIDMK trooped towards Chairman Hamid Ansari’s podium demanding a statement from the government.
The government tried to pacify the agitated members and said a statement will be made by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Wednesday, but this assurance did not bring peace.
The US and Western-backed resolution pulls up Sri Lanka over the alleged killings of innocents by the Sri Lankan military when it crushed the Tamil Tigers in 2009.
Earlier, AIADMK and DMK MPs shouted slogans.
V. Maitreyan of AIADMK said the world was aware of the war crimes against Sri Lankan Tamils.
“The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (J. Jayalalithaa) has raised this issue with the prime minister. We want an answer from the prime minister… Will they (India) support the UN resolution?”
DMK MP Tiruchi Siva urged the government to back the resolution.
D. Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI) said India, as Sri Lanka’s neighbour, should have moved the resolution, not the US. Bharatiya Janata Party’s M. Venkaiah Naidu asked the government to come out with a statement.
“It is a sensitive issue and we cannot (close) our eyes and ears as atrocities are being committed,” he said.
But the government remained non-committal.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said India’s “meticulous adherence (to) and respect for human rights is respected the world over.
“I have got the views of members here and would not like to comment excepting that at this time we do not know what is the resolution before the council,” he said.
The issue — sparked by video recording that Sri Lankan soldiers shot dead LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in cold blood in May 2009 — triggered three noisy adjournments during the day.
When the house met after lunch, the Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for the day.
The members demanded a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in the house.
Naidu later took a dig at the UPA government over its ally DMK disrupting functioning of the house.
“It is a sad commentary on functioning of UPA-II,” he said. (IANS)