No passage of bills in Parliament till Bansal, Kumar resign: BJP

NEW DELHI: Setting a tough condition before the government, BJP today said it will not allow passage of any bill in Parliament till Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar resign or are removed.

The opposition party also made it clear that it will not allow the passage of the National Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill, the two key measures the government is very keen about.

At the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting chaired by L K Advani, it decided that party leaders would meet Speaker Meira Kumar against any move to rush through the legislations amid din.

"There is no question of participating in the proceedings of Parliament till the two ministers--Bansal and Kumar--resign or are removed...We want the National Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill to be passed after proper discussion. We will not allow their hasty passage without discussion amid din," Deputy Leader of BJP in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde told reporters here.

Bansal is in the eye of a storm following the arrest of his nephew by CBI in a bribery case involving key railway appointments, while Kumar is embroiled in the coalgate controversy.
Asked if the government tried to push through the key bills amid din, as attempted yesterday with regard to the Food Security Bill, Munde said his party will not allow this to happen and will meet the Speaker for measures against such a move.

"Yesterday, the government tried to pass the Food Security Bill amid din in Lok Sabha. We discussed the issue in the BJP Parliamentary Party and decided that the party wanted the bills to be passed, but only after a proper discussion. We will not allow any attempt to pass the key bills in haste and in the din," Munde said.

He said BJP remains steadfast on the issue of resignation of Bansal and Kumar. "If they give their resignation or Congress relieves them from the Cabinet, then we will pass both the bills in Parliament," he said.

"The whole opposition is together (against passing of bills on this issue). If the government tries to push through the legislations amid the din, then we will meet the Speaker and seek measures against such a move as there is no such tradition. If the government shows 'dadagiri' (high- handedness), then we will oppose it," Munde said.