NEW DELHI, 17 August 2004 — In an apparent reference to Union Minister of State for Food Mohammad Taslimuddin, against whom the Bihar state government has withdrawn a criminal case, opposition members in the upper house yesterday sought a clarification from the government on the issue.

On Sunday, Bihar government withdrew the criminal case against Taslimuddin.

But Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said the Question Hour should not be disrupted and asked the opposition members to give a proper notice on the issue.

BJP members S.S. Ahluwalia and Ravi Shankar Prasad wanted to raise the issue but the chair turned down their plea leading to commotion in the house.

The Question Hour remained disrupted for nearly half an hour before order was restored.

The issue appears to have gained momentum with the state government withdrawing the criminal case against Taslimuddin and accordingly informing the Araria court, which stayed the execution of the non-bailable arrest warrant against the minister.

The issue was also raised by BJP member Sushil Modi in the lower house but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked him to raise the matter only during Zero Hour.

Demanding Taslimuddin’s immediate sacking, Modi sought an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for including such a minister in his government despite talking of a code of conduct and ethics in his Independence Day speech Sunday.

“When Taslimuddin took the oath of office, there was an arrest warrant in his name and he was on the run,” said Modi.

But Raghunath Jha, a member of Taslimuddin’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), countered by questioning why BJP leader L.K. Advani had not quit the government despite being named in a charge sheet.

Jha remarked: “When a case was filed against our leader (Railway Minister Lalu Prasad), he quit as Bihar chief minister.

But none of the ministers in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had done so despite being charged in cases.”

In the crossfire, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee refused to allow a discussion on the subject. The opposition finally cooled down.

Earlier, acting on a compromise formula worked out a fortnight ago, the BJP withdrew a statement made against the speaker while the government took back its condemnation of the opposition.

As question hour was about to begin, BJP Member of Parliament Santosh Gangwar referred to deputy leader of opposition V.K. Malhotra’s statement criticizing the speaker July 23, when the house last met.

Gangwar said Malhotra did not use any derogatory words against the speaker, but the opposition was withdrawing the statement nevertheless.