Dismissing the demand for resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday appealed to the Opposition to let Parliament function.
“There is no question of the Law Minister resigning. The matter is now in the court and it is sub-judice. It is not proper for me to do anything,” Singh told reporters.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party had said that Parliament will function smoothly only after the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Law Minister.
The Opposition had disrupted the proceedings of both Houses over the Central Bureau of Investigation’s affidavit in the Supreme Court that the Law Minister had desired to see its draft status report on the investigation into the multi-crore coal scam.
When asked whether he was using Kumar as a shield to safeguard himself, the Prime Minister said: “I would not like to comment on this subject. It is a matter which is now before the court.”
‘let Parliament function’
He said the Opposition had demanded for his resignation several times in the last nine years. “This is not the first time in the last nine years, how many times... (they have demanded the resignation). But I would like to appeal to the Opposition that they should let Parliament function,” he said.
He said by not allowing Parliament to function, “we are making mockery of our system of democracy. The whole world is laughing at us. Whatever the issues, these can be debated, discussed and decisions arrived at through proper dialogue at Parliament.”
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said: “The Government that has lost the confidence of the executive, legislature and the judiciary and when the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office has been directly proved, then why should we not demand the Prime Minister’s resignation.”
The Government had indicated that a decision on Kumar could be taken only after the apex court’s direction on the CBI’s affidavit. The court will consider the matter on Tuesday.
jigeesh.am@thehindu.co.in