Parliament proceedings washed out for seventh day

NEW DELHI: Proceedings in Parliament were washed out for the seventh straight day on Friday with the Opposition targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his utterances against those opposing demonetisation and demanding an apology from him for "wrongly accusing the opposition of holding black money". The government, however, rejected the demand. Members of parties like Congress, Trinamool Congress, SP, BSP and Left created uproar in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, taking strong objection to Modi's comments this morning that "some people" are criticising demonetisation because "the government did not give any time to them to make any preparation (to convert black money into white)." In the Rajya Sabha, as soon as the House met for the day and mourned the death of its former member Dipen Ghosh, BSP leader Mayawati was on her feet saying the Prime Minister had this morning "wrongly accused opposition of holding black money" and demanded that he should apologise for his remarks. Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad questioned how Modi could make such allegations when it was made very clear by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and others during debate on demonetisation yesterday that the opposition is against black money. "How can Prime Minister level such an allegation? ... We are against black money. Prime Minister must apologise," he said as Congress and other opposition members trooped into the Well of the House, raising slogans like "Pradhan Mantri maafi mango (Prime Minister apologise)." BJP members also came into the aisles and raised slogans supporting Modi to counter the Opposition onslaught against the government and the Prime Minister. Amid the din, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said a notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to take up discussion on ban on 500 and 1000 rupee notes has been received from Azad. "I am ready to admit that motion provided you are ready for discussion," he said. Azad said his notice was conditional upon the Prime Minister coming to the House and listening to the entire debate and replying to it. He said when Modi had yesterday come to Rajya Sabha, "I had on behalf of the entire opposition welcomed him" and also asked whether he had come to participate in the demonetisation debate or in the Question Hour. Kurien said it had been clarified by Leader of the House Arun Jaitley that the Prime Minister will come and intervene in the debate. But Azad disagreed, saying "we were promised that Prime Minister will be in the House till the debate is over" but Modi did not return after the lunch hour yesterday