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New Delhi, Jan 5: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday asked President Pratibha Patil to reconvene the winter session of parliament for a vote on the anti-graft Lokpal bill that could not be passed after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned Jan 29 midnight.

“We urged (the president) to reconvene the winter session for the passage of the Lokpal bill before the budget session,” BJP leader Ananth Kumar told IANS, after party leaders, including president Nitin Gadkari and senior leader L.K. Advani, met Patil to complain about what they said was “subversion of parliament” over the pending legislation.

“The president could advise the government to reconvene the session and immediately take a vote. The government must be asked to explain the reasons why the house was disturbed through such contrived disturbances,” the memorandum said.

Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley told reporters after meeting Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan that they “complained that there has been a subversion of parliament institution”.

Jaitley accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of resorting to “contrived disturbances” to adjourn parliament to avoid voting on the Lokpal bill as they did not have the required majority in Rajya Sabha.

“This is the first time in the country that to avoid voting, the government resorted to contrived disturbances in the parliament,” Jaitley said.

“In our memorandum we have urged the president to intervene in this matter,” he said, adding that the party has asked the president to suggest to the government that the parliament session be reconvened and the voting procedure resumed.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, former party president Rajnath Singh as well as M. Venkaiah Naidu, S.S. Ahluwalia and Ravi Shankar Prasad were among those who went to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, along with a large group of BJP MPs.

Advani said BJP leaders sought the president’s intervention.

“Our national president and all of us met the president and requested her to intervene. Our complaint and dissatisfaction is on what happened in the Rajya Sabha,” Advani said.

The Lokpal bill could not be passed in the upper house even after a three-day extension of the winter session. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned midnight Dec 29 without the scheduled voting.

The BJP has termed this as “murder of democracy”.

The memorandum also included previous incidents when the upper house was extended beyond midnight to complete the day’s proceedings.

“The Chair has consistently ruled relying on Rule 13 that the parliamentary day continues as long as the agenda of the day is not exhausted,” the memorandum pointed out.

“Thus, 22nd December 1980, 17th September 1981, 8th May 1986, 29th December 1986, 14th December 1987, 11th May 1988, 12th October 1989, 13th October 1989 and 4th June 1991 are some illustrations when the House has sat beyond midnight. Obviously, the objection of the Government was not sustainable,” it said.

Jaitley told reporters that the president has assured she would “examine all aspects” of the BJP’s complaint.

“The incident has left a blot on India’s parliamentary democracy. The nation looks up to you to restore the credibility of Indian parliament,” the memorandum added.

New Delhi, Dec 21: The Food Security Bill, which seeks to provide legal entitlement of cheaper foodgrains to over half of India’s 1.2 billion population, will be tabled in parliament Thursday, Food Minister K.V. Thomas said Wednesday.

“We will introduce the Food Security bill tomorrow,” Thomas told reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) here.

The union cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday approved the bill, a pet project of Congress president Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council.

“This is the dream project of Madam Sonia Gandhi,” Thomas said.

The bill promises 75 percent of rural population and 50 percent of urban households the right to 7 kg foodgrains per person per month, at Rs.3 per kg for rice, Rs.2 per kg for wheat and Rs.1 per kg for coarse grains to the priority beneficiaries.

The general category will be provided at least three kilograms of foodgrains per person per month at half the minimum selling price.

It will also provide rations or cooked meals to children under 14 years of age, destitutes, including women and persons on the margins of society.

New Delhi, Dec 21: The winter session of parliament, which was to end Thursday, has been extended. Both houses will reconvene Dec 27-29 to discuss the Lopal bill, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani said Wednesday.

“The house will be reconvened from Dec 27-29,” Advani told reporters after meeting leader of the Lok Sabha and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

He said the Lokpal bill would be introduced in the Lok Sabha Dec 22 and would be taken up for discussion Dec 27.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley also attended the meeting.

The Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee (BAC) had Tuesday agreed to extend the house Dec 27-29, but there were protests from some members, specially those from the northeast and Kerala.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal had said the BAC would review the decision Wednesday.

New Delhi: The dispute over the Mullaperiyar dam generated heat in the Rajya Sabha during zero hour Wednesday, with MPs from Tamil Nadu saying the dam was safe and those from Kerala pleading for a new dam.

D. Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI) urged the immediate intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the convening of a meet of the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to find an amicable solution.

Making a statement during zero hour, V. Maitreyan, an AIADMK member from Tamil Nadu, said “vandalism at the dam site (in Kerala) should be stopped”. He said the gate of the dam compound was damaged by mobs.

Maitreyan’s statement evoked protests from members from Kerala. Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan intervened to pacify warring members from the neighbouring states.

Maitreyan said the action of the Kerala government in demanding the construction of a new dam in place of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam was “tantamount to violating the Supreme Court order” in 2006, which had declared the dam as safe.

He said even the advocate general of Kerala had admitted recently that other dams like Idukki and Cheruthoni were capable of absorbing the waters of the Mullaperiyar dam in case of an emergency.

DMK leader Tiruchi Siva supported Maitreyan’s claim that the dam was safe. He said the Supreme Court observations were based on scientific studies and expert opinion.

P.J. Kurien, a Congress member from Kerala, said the Kerala government was demanding a new dam as more than three million people downstream of Mullapeiyar dam were living in fear.

A recent study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, had said the dam could collapse if an earthquake of intensity more than five on the Richter scale ricked the area. There have been 26 tremors of varying degrees in the region in the past few months, Kurien added.

“I pray the dam is safe. But what about the people if something happens to the dam,” Kurien asked adding that this worry had made the state government press for a new dam.

T.N. Seema, Communist Party of India-Marxist member from Kerala, said people in the Mullaperiyar region were living in an atmosphere of fear and panic. “How long will they have to live like that,” he asked.

Raja said the prime minister should intervene in the issue immediately.

“The prime minister should play a proactive role,” he said. He should convene a meeting of the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and try for an amicable and peaceful solution, the CPI leader added.

The Mullaperiyar dam, located in the Idukki district of Kerala, was constructed in 1895 and its water is supplied to neighbouring Tamil Nadu as per an accord between the erstwhile Travancore king and the British rulers of India.

New Delhi: The deadlock in parliament over the government’s decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail ended Wednesday after an all-party meeting passed a resolution to suspend the move till consensus is reached.

Leaders of political parties coming out the meeting said parliament would function and they had agreed on the government’s decision to suspend foreign investment in retail.

Wednesday is the first day when parliament is expected to function normally since the winter session began Nov 22.

Both houses were adjourned every single day of the session. In the first few days, the protests were over price rise and the demand for a separate state of Telangana but once the cabinet approved 51 percent FDI in multi-brand and 100 percent in single brand retail as party of crucial reforms, some ruling allies as well as the opposition strongly protested the decision.

On Saturday, Mamata Banerjee, chief of Trinamool Congress that is a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and is strongly opposed to the FDI move, announced that the government would put the decision on hold until a consensus emerged on the issue.

New Delhi:The government has called an all-party meeting Wednesday to end the logjam in parliament over allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail following efforts over the past few days to reach out to opposition and some of its own allies on the issue.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of signals that the government has decided to hold the contentious FDI decision. It is likely to make a statement on the issue in parliament.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajnath Singh said the meeting of floor leaders of political parties will be held at 9.30 a.m. Wednesday before parliament meets following a four-day break.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday spoke to BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj and Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury to convey the government’s decision to put the FDI decision in abeyance and seek their cooperation in running the houses of parliament.

The opposition leaders suggested that the government call an all-party meeting to convey its viewpoint.

Sushma Swaraj also indicated that her party will keep up its pressure on the government and demand a rollback of its decision or the government should agree to debate the FDI issue under adjournment motion entailing vote.

Mukherjee had Saturday informed Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that it would put the FDI decision on hold, pending consensus.

Nearly half of the winter session has been lost due to protests and slogan-shouting by opposition members over various issues, mainly FDI in retail.

The government had decided Nov 25 to allow 51 percent foreign ownership of multi-brand retail stores and 100 percent in single brand outlets.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed hope that parliament would function normally from Wednesday after it meets following a four-day break.

“Hopefully,” said the prime minister at the Navy Day “At Home” to queries if parliament would function normally Wednesday.

The winter session of parliament has seen repeated adjourments mainly on the government’s decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail and rising prices.

The opposition has demanded a roll back of the FDI decision, while some of government’s allies, including the Trinamool Congress, have expressed strong reservations.

Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee Saturday quoted union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as saying the government had decided to suspend the decision but there has been no official announcement.

New Delhi: Even as the ongoing deadlock in the Parliament continued on Friday, the Central government maintained it was ready to debate all contentious issues of national concern with other political parties.

The latest stalemate in Parliament comes in the wake of the government approving 51 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the supermarket sector, paving the entry of firms such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour into India, one of the world’s largest untapped markets.

The suggested reforms have drawn howls of protest from opposition parties as well as allies within the Congress party-led federal coalition. The issue feeds into some deep-seated nationalism of politicians, as well as fears of massive job losses among millions of small shopkeepers.

Consequently, proceedings in the 21-day winter session of the Parliament have come to a virtual standstill since it began last week.

Defending the government, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified that the deadlock had not been created by the ruling coalition.

“How can I say? Logjam is not created by us. I have no answer,” Mukherjee told mediapersons in New Delhi.

The Parliament has only worked normally in one session since 2010, with opposition parties repeatedly halting proceedings to protest corruption or demand policy changes.

Almost no big reform laws have passed in more than a year.

Speaking to mediapersons, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla stressed that the government wanted the parliament to function smoothly.

“We want the Parliament to function. Business is going as usual in the Parliament, the government is ready for discussions and debates on crucial issues. There is not a single issue, which the government is not ready to discuss with other parties. So, I want the parliament to function effectively,” said Shukla.

Echoing similar views, senior Congress leader R.P.N. Singh squarely blames the opposition for the ruckus in the Parliament, and urged lawmakers to discuss the issue with the government to end the row.

“The Congress party is extremely keen and it has been repeatedly asking the opposition to take part in discussion and let Parliament run, question hour run. Any problems that they have should be discussed on the floor of the house. But, by shouting down any kind of proposal that is coming in the Lok Sabha, I think this question should be put to the opposition parties, they should allow the Parliament to function,” Singh said.

“Instead of making noises on the streets, and making their points of view across the streets and television channels, if they put the same thing on the floor of the house, the house would work and what people are elected to do would be functioning better in a better way,” he added.

According to an estimate, nearly 50,000 dollars in running expenses and lawmakers’ daily allowances is wasted for every hour of lost parliamentary time. However, the biggest cost is caused by the legislature’s failure to introduce, debate and pass bills crucial to the state and its economy.

New Delhi: The parliament stalemate over foreign equity in retail and other issues continued for the ninth day Friday with the opposition and some members of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) vociferously seeking withdrawal of the key reform. Both houses were adjourned till Wednesday.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned minutes after members gathered in their houses in the morning. Presiding officers first cancelled the Question Hour to meet again at noon. They adjourned both the houses for the day when MPs met again amid din.

Parliament will now resume Wednesday with four days of extended weekend. The houses were already scheduled not to run on Monday. Tuesday is a holiday for Muharram, the day of Muslim mourning.

On Friday, the trouble in the Lok Sabha erupted as soon as the MPs met for the day’s sitting. Opposition and some members of the Trinamool Congress, a constituent of the ruling UPA, created an uproar to press for their demand to revoke the cabinet decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Indian retail market.

As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar took up the Question Hour, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) rose to protest the new reform decision.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Murli Manohar Joshi also joined him and tried to draw the speaker’s attention to the controversial decision.

Joshi had earlier in the week given a notice for an adjournment motion under a rule that entails voting.

The notice has not been rejected but the government is wary to accept it because if it loses the vote, it will have to withdraw the decision to allow 51 percent foreign equity in multi-brand retailing and 100 percent in single-brand format.

Pressing the speaker to accept the notice, BJP and Left members raised slogans and demanded that the government should revoke the policy.

Trinamool Congress members also protested the move and some of them shouted slogans demanding “FDI waapas lo, waapas lo”.

There were other issues that created uproar in the Lok Sabha. MPs from Kerala flashed placards demanding a new dam in their state. They urged the government to take steps to deal with the Mullaperiyar Dam issue.

In the Rajya Sabha, protests started as soon as Chairman Hamid Ansari called for the Question Hour.

New Delhi: The stalemate in parliament primarily over objections to allowing 51 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi brand retail, besides other issues, continued for the eighth day on Thursday, leading to both Houses being adjourned till Friday.

As soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, there was an obituary reference that was followed by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rushing into the Well of the House along with others to demand a rollback of the FDI decision. Left members were also seen objecting on the FDI issue.

Members affiliated to the Trinamool Congress, a key partner of the UPA, waved placards and raised slogans like ''''Cancel FDI in retail''''.

AIADMK members rushed into the Well of the House seeking implementation of a Supreme Court directive to raise the water storage level of the Mullaperiyar Dam that bifurcates Tamil Nadu and Kerala to 142 feet from the present 136 feet.

Kerala Members of Parliament also entered the Well of the House to demand that the water level in the dam be maintained at 120 feet, keeping in mind safety of the 116-year-old structure and the protection of about three million people living in the dam''s vicinity.

The Lower House was first adjourned till noon and later for the day.

The Rajya Sabha also witnessed similar scenes. It was adjourned first till noon and later for the day after agitating BJP, BSP, JD-U and AIADMK members raised slogans against the government''s FDI policy.

The Winter Session, which began on November 22, has virtually done no business, due to the treasury-opposition standoff on several issues, including the price rise, corruption, the demand for a separate state of Telangana and the safety of the Mullaperiyar Dam.