Baba Ramdev's protest: Black money issue rocks Parliament

NEW DELHI: As NDA leaders joined Ramdev in his protest against blackmoney, members of the BJP-led coalition disrupted Parliament over the issue today by demanding that the government should announce a time-bound plan to bring back such unaccounted money stashed abroad.

Members from BJP and Shiv Sena created uproar by pressing their demand, leading to repeated adjournments of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Significantly, in the Rajya Sabha, NDA members were joined by AIADMK in flagging the issue vociferously. Slogans like "Kaala dhan wapas lao... wapas lao, wapas lao (bring back blackmoney)" reverberated in both Houses.

In the Rajya Sabha, the issue was raised during Zero Hour by Venkaiah Naidu (BJP), who demanded a statement from the government on the steps taken on the issue.

Supported by other members of the BJP, he sought a time-frame to bring back the money parked abroad. While pressing his point, Naidu referred to the march to Parliament undertaken by Ramdev over the issue at around the same time and said there was country-wide concern.

P J Kurien, who was in the Chair, sought to defuse the situation, saying a discussion could be held on the issue if a proper notice is given and during that the government could provide a detailed response.

Ministers Ambika Soni, Rajiv Shukla and V Narayanasamy said the government is ready for a discussion during which it will spell out the steps taken on the issue. They said the government has already brought a White Paper on the issue, which Naidu dismissed as an "empty paper".

Dissatisfied with the government's reply, unrelenting opposition members from BJP and AIADMK were up on their feet shouting slogans, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House, first for 10 minutes and then till 2 PM.