BJP to continue to stall proceedings in Parliament: Venkaiah

The party is demanding not just the resignation of the Prime Minister but that of the entire cabinet

Sticking to its demand for the resignation of Manmohan Singh for irregularities in coal block allocation, BJP today vowed to continue its "parliamentary tactic" of stalling proceedings and challenged the Congress to seek a fresh mandate from people.

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP M Venkaiah Naidu said his party was not demanding the resignation of Congress-led UPA government merely on the alleged "coalgate" scam but also on a "series of scams and issues," including the 2G spectrum allocation.

"This UPA government has become a burden on the country and it should go. BJP is demanding not just the resignation of the Prime Minister, but that of the entire cabinet. This is culmination of so many scams and scandals including 2G and Adarsh Housing," he said.

Speaking to reporters here, Naidu said the Singh-led government had also failed on the fronts of economy, agriculture and inflation.

He claimed that Congress was not in a position to face the polls as "people are waiting to teach them a lesson."

On his party's persistent stalling of the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament, he said, "We do agree" that business should carry on but the goverment was "bulldozing" the opposition.

"They don't act after a debate, don't adhere to accountability. This Parliamentary accountability is as important as debates," he said.

Defending the continued stalling of Parliament, Naidu said his party "cannot remain mute spectator to the loot of nation's wealth."

He said besides the Prime Minister's resignation, all the coal allocation licenses should be revoked, a re-auction held and an independent inquiry should be conducted into the matter.

Naidu also slammed the Prime Minister and the Congress leaders for "criticising" CAG.

Hitting out at Congress' criticism of BJP for disrupting Parliament, he said the former had resorted to similar tactics as opposition and stalled proceedings on "flimsy grounds," including on issues like the Babri mosque demolition, which he recalled had happened during the Congress rule in 1992.

"When Congress disrupts, it is in nation's interest and when we do is it a crime?" he said, while asking Congress not to "preach sermons," to his party.

Asked if he foresaw mid-term polls, he replied, "We don't know how long this government will survive" and BJP will evolve its strategy accordingly.