Parliament live: 'One Hindu, two Muslims died, three Indian lives were lost' - Firstpost

2.11 pm: Like father, like son With Farooq Abdullah offering a glimpse of his deep talent for observation in the House, son Omar Abdullah too jumps onto the 'hang Modi and escape the noose' bandwagon. While one would expect the heads of the state which is seized by such violence to clarify doubts and answer pertinent questions, Omar Abdullah points out that Modi, during the riots had barred the Army and not apologised. 1.45 pm: Why is government sleeping? asks angry Mayawati Next up to the debating table was an angry Mayawati who was determined to say her piece despite the constantly ringing bell to tell her that her time was up, punctuated by pleas of "No please, sit down" by deputy Chairman PJ Kurien. Mayawati's BSP has personal stake in the Kishtwar debate because the son of one of their district chiefs had been killed in the violence. "The situation is bad and the state government has been sleeping. The state's home minister should have ensured law and order in Kishtwar. If order can't be restored then the state government of J&K should be dismissed.", she thundered. The problem of law and order is a pet grievance of the former BSP Minister who constantly rues the lack of it in her own home state ever since the Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party came to power. However in this case, it is also a matter of national pride. "We thought what was happening from across border situation will be handled by the state govt and centre. But this has not been the case", she said. CPI leader D Raja backs Mayawati's demand and says a serious probe must be ordered into the incident. 1.21 pm: Farooq Abdullah lashes out at opposition, takes a dig at Modi With his son Omar facing the heat, Farooq Abdullah jumps to his rescue. With Jaitley bringing up the issue, he angrily refers to the 2002 riots in Gujarat. "When the riots occurred in Gujarat in 2002, the Army was not allowed inside. No one from outside was allowed to enter Ahmedabad. And Gujarat is not a property of Modi," he hollered back, angrily as the house broke out in protest and he had to be calmed down. Who said trolls live only on Twitter? Here's one right inside the Rajya Sabha shouting 'we hate you too' like those great Twitter warriors! Jaitley had previously warned the government against such measures and said that its tactics reminded them of the 1990s when the Kashmiri Pandits were chased out. 1.10 pm: Arun Jaitley speaks, slams the government and the media This was exactly what the Congress must have been dreading and hence had been insisting that they be allowed to make a statement first. Jaitley, unlike his Lok Sabha counterpart Sushma Swaraj, has a way of hitting the nail on its head sans distracting political metaphors. He points out that Kishtwar doesn't have a disturbing history of violence and Hindus and Muslims have mostly lived in peace for most times. He questioned why such an incident broke out on the eve of the Eid prayers, just a few days after five Indian soldiers were killed in the LoC by the Pakistan troops. "This is not a issue of communal disharmony," he points out. "Flags of the neighbouring nation are not displayed during a communal clash in India, posters of death row terrorists are not displayed during a skirmish between two religious communities in India. This is an issue of the country's sovereignty," says Jaitley. He alleged that the police had been a mute spectator when the clashes broke out and the district administration was crippled by the ferocity of it. "Though were were assured by the government that the Army is being moved, the Army moved in only late in the evening. By then, there was mayhem in the town of Kishtwar," he added. He then questioned the government's move to bar the media and other leaders from entering Jammu and Kashmir. "What does one do in a situation like this? Impose censorship? Take an ostrich like approach and ban the media so that no one comes to know what is going on? Will the media be quiet about this and not go overboard critising the issue?" he asked. "Jammu and Kashmir is not the personal property of one family. They don't have the right to bar anyone from the state and indefinitely at that. What if the BJP-led states imposed a section 144 and stopped all AICC members from entering them? What is this, a banana republic?" Well Jaitley evidently doesn't pay much attention to Rahul Gandhi. Else he would have already known the answer to his question and how in junior Gandhi's superior rhetoric, it is a beehive! 12.46 pm: Hierarchy, not discussion, the House's priority The fight continues even after the Rajya Sabha resumes. PJ Kurien tries in vain to bring order to the House. Add to that one evidently very focussed MP who goes on yelling 'save Andhra Pradesh' as if there's nothing more important in this world. At one point, he wails, "Save Andhra Pradesh sir." So what Pakistan intends to trample the LoC, so what people kill each other in Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh must be saved from its imaginary enemies before that. CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, obviously feeling left out, jumps in this time demanding even they be allowed to speak about Oommen Chandy and the Kerala issue. Kurien, who by now, seems to have pacified Chidambaram who doesn't protest when told that he'll be allowed to present his statement after Arun Jaitley. However, as the House turns into a neighbourhood cricket ground with high school boys accusing each other of cheating over the toss – only these boys have less hair, more girth and 40 more years of life lived – the House is adjourned temporarily again. 12.06 pm: Who gets to make a 'statement' first? Let's fight and decide Because that is the mature thing to do, right? It won't be too out of line if you suggest a coin toss to our ministers and political leaders – even that makes a fair amount of sense than a pointless debate on who gets to speak first. Shockingly enough, the Congress, which has been batting for the right to speak and need to let the parliament function without glitches joins the deafening chorus with P Chidambaram leading the government brigade, no less. Cornered over the Kishtwar violence and the government's move to cut off the town from the rest of the country citing security reasons, Chidambaram stands up in the Rajya Sabha and says that the government has the right to make a statement on the issue before anyone else. "With due respect to the honourable members, I would like to point out that the government is ready with a statement on the Kishtwar issue and would like to submit it to the House. You want a statement, we are ready with one. We are not fighting shy off a statement, let us speak first," he says. BJP, quite uncharacteristically, keeps quiet as the house breaks out in protests with Arun Jaitley standing expectantly. There's another party demanding even they be allowed to speak. Chidambaram in the middle of the din stars reading out his statement defiantly and it takes PJ Kurien to point out that Jaitley is the one who is logically allowed to speak now. "Don't intimidate me Mr Chidambaram," said an angry Kurien  resolute on letting Jaitley speak. However, his bravery doesn't hold before the time tested chaos in the house which has to be adjourned immediately. 11.36 am: Now protests outside the Parliament too Left MPs have taken their protest outside the Rajya Sabha. Outnumbered both in terms of pet issue and people, the Left stepped out of the parliament to stir agaisnt Kerala CM Oommen Chandy demanding he resigns because of his involvement in the solar scam. 11.23: Rajya Sabha tries functioning, is adjourned again The Congress adopts the Opposition's trick and one agitated MP puts the house off tracks. While Arun Jaitley stands up to make a statement on the Kishtwar issue, he is prevented by an MP howling unabashedly despite several warnings from Hamid Ansari. Ansari on his part, tries to pull a Meira Kumar on the house by saying 'baith jaiye' multiple times. But given his 'baith jaiye' rings as authentic and flattering as Bappi Lahiri's rock and roll, the chaos in Rajya Sabha remains unaffected. Ansari adjourns the house as a result. TV channel Times Now reported that minister of state, home affairs, RPN Singh is supposed to make a statement about the Kishtwar situation. 11.00 am: Both houses of Parliament adjourned Leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley was set to make a statement but was stoped by loud, angry sounding protests in the house as Congress Minister Jairam Ramesh watched it all lazily with his hands behind his head. "This is outrageous!" said Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari before finally adjourning the house for 15 minutes, as banner waving MPs charged into the well of the house. Similar protests in the Lok Sabha led to an adjournment by Meira Kumar, who also registered the fact that the protests were 'unacceptable'. We still don't know who is responsible for the protests in the house, but it did not seem to be the BJP. Most likely it is the Seemandhra MPs who are back in full form. 9.30 am: Food Security Bill, RTI Amendment Bill to be tabled but will fuming BJP let the house run? Parliament is reconvening after three days, which means our MPs have had ample time to rest their vocal chords for a new session of chanting. Of course in the event that all differences are resolved and everyone allows the house to run, we are in for an interesting day. The UPA'S pet Food Security Bill is likely to be taken up for debate in the Lok Sabha, with the opposition expected to vote for it. Still no word on what a sulking Samajwadi Party may do, and whether they have forgiven and indeed forgotten, suspended IAS officer, Durga Shakti Nagpal. If the BJP does end up supporting the bill however, the mood of the SP will not matter very much. Will this be the fate of Parliament today? The RTI amendment bill is also likely to be tabled during today's session. All political parties have joined hands to oppose a Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) order which said that the six major parties – Congress, BJP, NCP, CPM, CPI and BSP – are public authorities and come under the ambit of RTI. Previously, cabinet had approved an amendment to RTI Act saying political parties were associations of individuals, and therefore not public authorities. Since the CIC order is still operational, the government is keen to pass the bill soon. Of course with fresh tension in Kishtwar, and the BJP fuming over the fact that leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was detained at the Jammu airport and not allowed to visit the region, there is every chance that the main opposition party will not allow the house to run. "I don't know under which law they (Jammu and Kashmir government) have the right not to allow someone to visit the state. This is totally undemocratic and unconstitutional. They want to keep the truth hidden," Jaitley told reporters soon after landing at Delhi airport. (Read more) And that is not the end of the problems facing the house. There was also fresh violence along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, with Pakistani troops violating the ceasefire in 13 incidents. The violence has left a BSF jawan critically injured. On Sunday, the ceasefire was violated by Pakistani forces in Mendhar area of Poonch. Ten Indian Army posts, including the ones in Langot, Forward Balakot and Dera Basi, came under fire at around 11.30 am. This is likely to cause even more tension in the house, as the incidents come almost immediately after a tough, (albeit revised) statement from Defence Minister AK Antony, where he held Pakistan responsible for the death of five jawans who were killed in firing in Poonch. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHbj-VZ1Aa5GxkN44HVNAbOFOhPCQ&url=http://www.firstpost.com/politics/parliament-live-one-hindu-two-muslims-died-three-indian-lives-were-lost-1025897.html

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