LK Advani raps Speaker and minister for House chaos

New Delhi: Veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani, who has been maintaining a stoic silence, erupted in the Lok Sabha over the way Lok Sabha proceedings were being conducted and targeted both Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar for not being able to run the House, saying that the way the House was functioning was “disgraceful”.

A visibly agitated Advani, who had kept quiet over the demonetisation issue, said: “Neither the Speaker not the parliamentary affairs minister are running the House. The House is running on its own”.

After the outburst by Mr Advani, both the government and main Opposition Congress, which is leading the protests in the two Houses of Parliament, tried to shift the blame for his anguish to each other.

Saying that he would speak to the Speaker over the issue, the old war-horse virtually threatened to go public on the way the House was being run. “I am going to say it publicly”. But fortunately for the BJP, Mr Advani did not do so.

Amid raucous scenes in the Lower House, when the Opposition, including Congress, Trinamul Congress and Left were protesting in the Well of the House, Mr Advani beckoned Mr Ananth Kumar and was seen speaking agitatedly with him.

As soon as the Speaker adjourned the House, the senior leader asked a Parliament official till when was the House adjourned. When informed that it was till 2 pm, the veteran leader quipped, “It should be adjourned sine die”.

The Congress was quick to latch on to Mr Advani’s angry remarks, telling the government to pay heed to the “good advice” of the BJP veteran and get the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha going.

“L.K. Advani is a very senior leader of the BJP and has been in Parliament for a long time. BJP considers Advaniji as their ‘margdarshak’ and guru. I expect that the BJP is not hearing out the Opposition, but at least BJP should hear out their ‘margdarshak’,” Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev told reporters.

“I thank him. Advani has brought correct perspective to the whole issue. It is the responsibility of the government to make sure that maximum work is done during the session.

“Advani is one of the senior most parliamentarians. We hope the government will take his good advice,” she said.

Top Union ministers, however, attributed Mr Advani’s anguish to his anger with Opposition parties and insisted they were to “blame” for the impasse. “He was upset with Opposition,” Mr Ananth Kumar said.

Another senior minister Venkaiah Naidu said everybody was “sad” over the logjam but the Opposition was not letting the House to function.

“What is their (opposition) strategy? Why are they going on this suicidal path, I am not able to understand. But the way Parliament is functioning, the people of the country are sad,” he said.

Apportioning the blame on both ruling and treasury benches, the veteran leader said “both sides are party to it”. Soon, Mr Kumar and minister of state for parliamentary affairs S.S. Ahluwalia were seen escorting him out of the Lok Sabha. They also accompanied him to his car outside Parliament.

Trying to tone it down and deflect the issue, Mr Kumar pinned it on the Opposition. He said that the senior leader was upset at the way Opposition was behaving and not the government and speaker. “He wants the house to run,” the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, who had held the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio felt that “it was the agony of a senior Parliamentarian and politician”.