Opposition Snubs Govt over Dantewada in Parliament
On the first day of resumption of budget session after the break, the Opposition snubbed UPA government for presenting a deeply divided front on its anti-Maoist strategy, said media reports.
Following two adjournments of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha over the Dantewada carnage, Home Minister P Chidambaram addressed Parliament on the Naxal attack saying that country needs ‘a strong head, a strong heart, and enormous staying power’ in dealing with the Naxal insurgency, reports said.
In response, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that the whole opposition supported Chidambaram, said reports.
“We did not ask the Home Minister to resign because we did not want to see a smile on the face of the Maoists,” he was quoted as saying.
Jaitely then attacked the Congress over its internal differences which have come out in public in the last two days, reports said.
He mentioned that a newspaper article written by AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh slamming Chidambaram both professionally and for his ‘aggressive’ approach to the Naxal issue, said reports.
“Opposition wants to stand with the government but…we don’t need a government who tries to pull down its own Home minister; what we don’t need is a divided government,” he was quoted as saying.
The BJP leader also referred to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s comments saying that there was not a single Maoist in Lalgarh or West Bengal and showing opposition to anti-Maoists operations, reports said.
Jaitley described Chidambaram’s offer to resign after the Dantewada massacre as inappropriate.
“Home Ministers don’t behave like an injured martyr,” he was quoted as saying.
(Based on internet reports)
