Debates on PNB scam, Karti Chidambaram disrupt Budget session reopening

Apart from the Congress, Trinamool Congress asked for a discussion on Punjab National Bank fraud case

Neither of the two Houses of Parliament could transact any significant business on Monday with opposition parties demanding a discussion on the bank fraud case.
 

Apart from the Congress, Trinamool Congress asking for a discussion on bank fraud, the Bharatiya Janata Party members have also given notices to ask for a discussion into the case against Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members raised slogans to demand a special package for Andhra Pradesh, while the AIADMK and the DMK came together to demand implementation of the court order on constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board.

The Budget session of Parliament resumed after nearly a month long break amid the buzz generated by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)’s support for arch-rival Samajwadi Party candidates in the Phulpur and Gorakhpur by-elections in Uttar Pradesh slated for March 11.

Several of the non-Congress regional opposition parties also floated the idea of a possible third front, with West Bengal and Telangana chief ministers taking the lead.

The BJP leadership basked in the joy of its electoral wins in the northeast and spent the day putting together coalition governments in Meghalaya and Nagaland.
 

The BJP also attempted to reshape the public narrative on the bank fraud case with union ministers Piyush Goyal and Ravi Shankar Prasad stating that the cases of bank fraud that have come to light now had taken place during the Congress-led UPA rule.

The Lok Sabha could take up the discussion on the bank fraud on Tuesday. However, in the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is in a minority, the Congress has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in the House.

In the midst of protests in Parliament, Trinamool Congress sources said their party chief Mamata Banerjee has reached out to DMK’s MK Stalin. She and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao have already exchanged notes on the possibility of a putting together a third front for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi on Monday spoke to Rao to extend his support to a third front. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and two MPs from Maharashtra have extended support to Rao's proposal.

Trinamool leader Derek O’Brien said Banerjee had a 12-minute telephonic conversation with Stalin. Banerjee told Stalin that their respective parties could constitute a block of over 70 MPs in the next Lok Sabha. He said the West Bengal chief minister also spoke with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray.

There was "good coordination" between TRS, TDP, SP, BSP, TMC and DMK in Parliament on various issues today, O'Brien said. The Congress criticised the move, while BJP termed it illusory.

In Tamil Nadu, film actor Rajinikanth unveiled a statue of former state chief minister MG Ramachandran. He said there was a vacuum for a good leader in Tamil Nadu. “I am coming to fill-in that space,” Rajinikanth said.

In Kolkata, the CPI (M) state conference witnessed heated discussions with several leaders arguing in favour of an “adjustment” with the Congress to stop the BJP. According to reports, nearly two-thirds of the delegates called for the party’s draft of its future political line be amended. Panchayat polls are around the corner in Bengal. In Tripura, clashes were reported between BJP and CPI (M) workers.