New Delhi:
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has decided to boycott Home Minister P Chidambaram as the NDA says he is a part of the 2G scam. The NDA says it will not allow the Home Minister to speak on the floor of the House during the Winter Session of Parliament which begins tomorrow.
Mr Chidambaram was the Finance Minister when the 2G scam unfolded in 2008.
"The then Finance Minister P Chidambaram was equally culpable as the then Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum scam. Until his resignation is accepted, we will continue to boycott him in Parliament," said BJP leader SS Ahluwalia.
Reacting to the NDA's boycott plan, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said, "If that's their intention, it's really sad. He's one of our finest ministers. If they have a problem with him, they should talk to him. He has friends on the other side of the house as well. It will be uncharitable and unkind if those friends don't give him a chance to say what he wants to say.
"He's kept a careful silence. But I'm sure if Parliament wants him to share something, he will. I think it'll be a great loss on all sides, if they boycott him, " Mr Khurshid added.
(Read: Swamy gets Chidambaram-Raja letters)
BJP leaders met at LK Advani's house on Monday to finalise their strategy for the upcoming session. This was followed by a meeting of NDA leaders.
In addition to boycotting the Home Minster, the NDA will also submit an adjournment notice on black money when the session begins on Tuesday. The move comes as the opposition has been pressurising the government to declare the names of account holders given to the government by HSBC Bank, Switzerland. There has been speculation that the names of some MPs figure in the list.
Apart from corruption and black money, the Left will move an adjournment motion on price rise.
The BJP claimed that there will be floor coordination between the NDA and the Left during the winter session of Parliament, including support to each other's adjournment motions.
There are several crucial bills lined up for debate in the Winter Session including the Lokpal Bill, Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill. With the Opposition upping the ante, the business of the House could be affected during the 30-day session.
The government is already under pressure from Team Anna for the passage of the Lokpal Bill. Accusing the government of reducing the proposed Lokpal to an "empty tin box with no powers", Team Anna said today they were surprised at the move to exclude Citizen's Charter and lower bureaucracy from the ambit of the ombudsman, contrary to a Parliament resolution.