Should I Resign, Upset LK Advani Tells Lawmakers Over Parliament Chaos

New Delhi: BJP veteran LK Advani has again expressed severe disappointment at the continuous disruption of parliament, invoking the party's gold standard Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister. Mr Advani asked union home minister Rajnath Singh to speak to the opposition and try and restore order so that the Houses can run. If Mr Vajpayee had been in Parliament today, he said, "he would have felt disappointed over disruptions."
To BJP lawmakers the 89-year-old former deputy Prime Minister said, "Disruptions are so disappointing that I wonder if I should resign from the Lok Sabha."
There is now only a day left of the winter session. On Thursday, Parliament were once again overrun by noisy clashes between the government and opposition, with both Houses witnessing adjournments, the Lok Sabha for the day and the Rajya Sabha till 2 pm.
The winter session, which began on November 16, had 22 sittings and the government had listed 10 important bills to be discussed and passed, including crucial legislation related to the Goods and Services Tax or GST. With a day to go, Parliament had cleared only four bills in the session.
A debate on the note ban in the Rajya Saha or Upper House could not resume after the first day of the session and the Lok Sabha saw not a single full day



of work as the opposition disrupted proceedings daily over their demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi explain in Parliament his ban on 500 and 1000 rupee notes and its impact on the poor amid a massive cash crunch that has followed.
While the government has said that the PM is ready to participate in a discussion on the notes ban, the two sides have failed to agree on how to hold that discussion - with or without a vote at the end. Both sides have blamed the other for Parliament not functioning.

On Thursday, the Congress sought an adjournment of regular work in both Houses to discuss the notes ban, but the ruling BJP said the opposition party must first give answers on the AgustaWestland helicopter deal after former Air Chief SP Tyagi, arrested on Friday, alleged that the then Prime Minister's office of the Congress government had tweaked the deal in favour of the UK-based helicopter maker.
"This is for the first time in the history of India that it's the ruling party that is not letting the House function," alleged the Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Rajya Sabha. The House was adjourned soon after.
"For God's sake, do your job. You are meant to transact business in Parliament," President Pranab Mukherjee told lawmakers in a strong rebuke earlier this month.