A mid-year review pegging down economic growth was presented Monday to a largely empty parliament even as it observed the third anniversary of a terrorist attack that had killed nine people and shaken the nation.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented in both houses the 55-page report of a mid-year review that lowered India's economic growth projection for the current fiscal year to six percent from the earlier level of 6-6.5 percent.
But the reports were tabled to a Lok Sabha missing at least three-fourths of its MPs, that too on the opening day of the week. While the main opposition BJP appeared absorbed by internal troubles, many ruling party MPs also stayed away from the house on some pretext or the other.
Despite strict instructions to MPs from party leaders to be present in the house, the lower house Monday witnessed more empty benches forcing the speaker to send a warning to the leadership.
In the house of 545 members, only 122 were present during question hour Monday. The opposition had only 40 members and there were 82, including ministers, from the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) alliance.
"I hope leaders of all political parties take note of this," Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said after he had to skip four starred questions -- to which ministers have to give oral answers in the house -- due to the absence of members who had put up the queries.
"Today being Monday, the members should not be absent," the visibly annoyed speaker said.
Questions had to be skipped, as MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal were not there to put up the queries.
BJP MPs were apparently preoccupied with the impact of an outburst Sunday by one of its most popular faces, soap opera actress Smriti 'Tulsi' Irani who threatened to observe a hunger fast if Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi did not resign and retracted the demand hours later.
Party leaders from former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu fielded queries about possible action against Irani for going public against a party leader, an episode that has embarrassed the BJP close on the heels of Uma Bharati's televised revolt and suspension.
There is no need for (Modi) to resign," said Vajpayee, evidently distancing himself from Irani's repeated reference to his own call for Modi's removal.
--Indo-Asian News Service