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Irate Opposition demands Naik's scalp

Congress and other Opposition members in Lok Sabha sought resignation of Petroleum Minister Ram Naik and an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the reported allotment of petrol pumps to ruling party functionaries in different parts of the country.

Demanding suspension of the Question Hour to discuss the matter, Congress Chief Whip Priyaranjan Dasmunsi accused Vajpayee government of being "dishonest" and ignoring the families of Kargil martyrs and freedom fighters in allotment of petrol pumps and violating the directive of the Supreme Court.

Waving a newspaper report, which contained the list of allottees belonging to persons related to leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies, Dasmunsi along with Rashtriya Janata Dal, Left Party and Samajwadi Party members said the government always maintained silence when charges of corruption and scandalous revelations were made in the House.

The Question Hour remained disrupted for half-an-hour despite Speaker Manohar Joshi's plea to the members to raise the matter during Zero Hour. He observed that the Question Hour could not be suspended, as there was no consensus in the House.

Rejecting the charge, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said the petrol pumps had been allotted in accordance with the prescribed norms.

On the other hand, it was the Congress regime, which had misused discretionary quota in the past, he alleged and said the Question Hour, should not be suspended.

Stating that the government was prepared to have a debate on any issue, Mahajan said if Naik was in Delhi, he would come to the House otherwise the Opposition would have to wait till Monday.

Insisting on the ouster of Naik, Opposition members including Dasmunsi, Pawan Kumar Bansal (Cong), Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD), Akhilesh Singh (Samajwadi Party) and Hanan Mollah (CPI-M) demanded that all documents related to the allotment must be handed over to CBI for a probe. Till then the orders for allotment should be kept in abeyance.

They also shouted slogans "BJP Petrol Pump Party".

Almost a similar scene was witnessed in the Rajya Sabha. However, Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla ruled out suspension of Question Hour to discuss the issue.

On the resignation demand, the Speaker told the Opposition that only the prime minister could take such a decision and it was not for the parliamentary affairs minister to decide.

Opposition was prepared to cooperate with the Chair for normal functioning of the House provided the government stated that all that appeared in the newspaper was incorrect, Dasmunsi said.

Joshi said he understood the sentiments of the members and the importance of the issue and would allow them to raise it later.

As the din continued, the Speaker ordered the cameras to be switched off. He said he was trying to find a solution to the problem and if the petroleum minister is not available, the minister of state would reply to their charges.

Rajya Sabha adjourned

The Opposition uproar forced adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for the day.

The House had been earlier adjourned for two hours shortly after the Question Hour in the wake of loud protests.

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