NEW DELHI, 8 July 2004 — Continuing its offensive, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) yesterday decided to boycott all the tainted ministers including Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, even as its MPs took part in the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament.
The decision follows the report submitted by a sub-committee constituted at a meeting of NDA MPs on Tuesday, which decided to give up the strategy of stalling parliamentary proceedings, party sources said.
The five-member committee, formed to discuss the BJP-led alliance’s future mode of protest, suggested that NDA MPs boycott all the four tainted ministers including Lalu Yadav, Mohammed Taslimuddin, Jai Prakash Yadav,and Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi whenever they rise to make a statement or reply to debate in either house of Parliament. The ministers would also be boycotted during question hour, the sources said.
A resolution passed in Tuesday’s meeting said that the NDA will continue to articulate its demand in Parliament by focusing its protest mainly against one representative tainted minister, the minister of railways, in an appropriate manner.
Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi in a sharp attack on the BJP-led NDA for their conduct in Parliament in recent days, said they were attempting to subvert the “overwhelming” mandate of the people.
Addressing the first general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Sonia said, “The desperation of our political opponents is not surprising, their frustration is not unexpected. Blinded by arrogance of power, isolated from people, they did not expect to lose. They lost. More than that, they lost decisively. They and their cheer leaders are busy trying to subvert the overwhelming mandate of our people,” said Gandhi.
