PM rues Parliament session wasted

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today rued the close of a Parliament session without transacting any business, in the wake of opposition protests over the alleged infirmities in the allocation of coal blocks as pointed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report.

''We have just ended a wasted session of Parliament when both Houses were not allowed to function. The cause of the repeated disruption was that we had received a report of the CAG on the allocation of coal blocks, which alleged some infirmities in the process,'' the prime minister pointed out.

''Instead of discussing this report in the PAC, which is the normal procedure, or even discussing it immediately in Parliament, which we offered to do, leaders of the opposition saw it fit to demand my resignation before Parliament was even allowed to take a view on the report,'' he added.

He derided the opposition strategy to stall parliamentary procedures instead of debating issues in the two Houses.

''I feel very strongly that this is making a mockery of parliamentary democracy. We take pride in our parliamentary democracy and the tradition of free debate that it implies. Only a few months ago, during the 60th year celebrations of our Parliament, I said that the story of the Indian Parliament is a story of India striving for freedom and dignity; for tolerance and equality; for peace and progress,'' he said.

He said the government and the opposition both have a sacred obligation to strengthen the parliamentary system and by not doing it incalculable damage is done to the reputation of the Parliament.