Govt's failure to discuss riots 'scandalous' as British parliament has already discussed it: CPI(M)

The CPI(M) on Friday said it was "scandalous" that the Indian Parliament was refusing to discuss the Delhi riots while the British House of Commons discussed the communal violence three days back.

At least 53 people have died in the violence that gripped northeast Delhi as clashes erupted in the area last week over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

"The party is outraged by the failure of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to discuss the ghastly communal violence in North East Delhi. The failure to discuss such a humongous tragedy with law and order under the charge of the Union Government is shameful. This has officially cost 53 lives so far and the numbers continue to grow. It is also not clear what will be the fate of the large number of missing people," it said.

The party also accused the government of using the Holi festival as an excuse to refuse urgency for being accountable to the legislature.

"It is also shameful that the government has passed the buck onto the presiding officers of the two houses to allow matters to come to this pass. We believe that this is not acceptable to the people of a functioning democracy," it said.

The leftist party also described as "scandalous" the Parliament's "failure" to discuss the riots in the light of the fact that the British House of Commons, the lower house of UK's Parliament, discussed the Delhi violence three days back.