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Opposition making excuses to avoid debate on demonetisation: Jaitley

By Newsd
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Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday accused the Opposition of making excuses to avoid a debate on the government’s decision to demonetise ₹ 500 and ₹1,000 notes, even as the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day.

The Upper House was adjourned after Opposition parties created an uproar demanding the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who left the day’s proceedings following his predecessor Manmohan Singh’s speech.

“It has become very clear that the opposition doesn’t want a debate. Now they are finding different ways to run away from the debate. This is a new method,” Jaitley said amid opposition’s demand that the Prime Minister should be present throughout the demonetisation debate in Rajya Sabha.

Jaitley added: “There is no tradition that if the debate goes on for 15 hours, the PM will be present for that long.”

However, as soon as the Rajya Sabha met post lunch, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, who was speaking when the House was adjourned, said she had requested Modi to sit through the debate in the post lunch sitting as well.

“Whole opposition requested the Prime Minister to sit through the debate. It is sad that he is not in the House after lunch,” Mayawati said.

The BSP chief was supported by Communist party of India-Marxist (CPM) leader Sitaram Yechury and leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad.

“We had said that if the Prime Minister is here for the debate the House will run, otherwise it will not run,” Azad said.

Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, however, questioned how it was possible for the Prime Minister to be present all the time.

“I had this doubt and now it is confirmed that the opposition is trying to run away from debate and trying to find reasons for it … Continue the debate, Modi will participate as per the tradition. There is no tradition that the Prime Minister will sit through the whole debate,” he said.

Azad, however, said that during the debate on 2G scam, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sat through the whole debate on the opposition’s insistence. As opposition members created a ruckus, the House was adjourned for the day.

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