New Delhi: The Opposition and Treasury benches fought over the alleged leak of the Justice Pathak Authority report on the Oil-for-Food scam, forcing both the houses - Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to be adjourned for the day on Monday.
In the Rajya Sabha, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha demanded a discussion on the NDA’s breach of privilege notice against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Sinha was supported by members of Samajwadi Party, TDP and AIADMK. In between Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chaudhary sought to reply to a starred question put by B K Hariprasad (Congress), but what she said could not be heard in the din.
The Lower House was adjourned after Opposition members raised slogan during Question Hour.
Outside Parliament, Natwar, who too has moved a privilege notice against the Prime Minister, refused to comment.
"Aage Aage dekhiye hota hai kya (watch out what happens next) ," he said when reporters asked him whether he would press for the privilege motion.
NDA gets ammo
The NDA has said it would not allow Parliament to function till the Prime Minister apologises or quits over the leak.
BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said after an NDA meeting that the Opposition alliance believed the Prime Minister himself was responsible for the Pathak report leak to the media.
"The leakage of the report is a gross breach of privilege of the House (Lok Sabha). We are therefore giving notice under rule 222 for breach of privilege of this House by the Prime Minister, who received the only copy of the report from Justice Pathak,” Malhotra said.
"We also request you to give us permission to raise the issue of breach of privilege in the House," an NDA notice, submitted with the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker and signed individually by members of the Opposition alliance, said.
Malhotra said a similar notice has been filed with the office of the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
"We will not let Parliament function until the Prime Minister apologises for the leak. He should either apologise or quit his post," the BJP leader said.
The NDA meeting held at Leader of Opposition L K Advani's chamber in Parliament was attended among others by alliance convenor George Fernandes, BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh, Malhotra, S S Ahluwalia, the BJD's B K Tripathy and Shiromani Akali Dal's Sukhdev Singh Libra.
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