Indian Parliament Suspended on Mosque Issue
December 6, 2000 - 0:0
NEW DELHI -- India's Parliament was adjourned on Tuesday following an uproar by opposition deputies demanding the resignation of three ministers facing charges for the demolition of a 16th century mosque eight years ago.
The Parliament adjournment puts off India's response to Pakistan's offer of restraint in Kashmir, a week after New Delhi adopted a cease-fire in the disputed Himalayan region.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh was scheduled to deliver a detailed response in both houses of Parliament on Tuesday to Pakistan's decision at the weekend to observe restraint along a military Line of Control running through Kashmir.
The speaker of the Lower House, Ganti M. Balayogi, adjourned the chamber till Wednesday after slogan-shouting opposition members trooped to the center of the house.
Shortly after, the Upper House of Parliament too was adjourned after opposition deputies insisted that the government drop all business and take up the issue of those involved in the destruction of the mosque.
"We want resignations, we want resignations...", members of the Samajwadi Party said.
Interior Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Sports Minister Uma Bharti are among those charged for the 1992 destruction of the mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.
Some 3,000 people died in religious riots across the country after Hindu fundamentalists brought down the mosque saying that it was the site of a temple to the Hindu god-king Rama.
Congress members raising the temple-mosque issue for a second day running said there could not be a fair trial until the three ministers resigned.
Earlier on Monday, Balayogi ordered the chamber to be suspended until Tuesday after lawmakers from the Congress Party insisted that the three ministers step down until the courts had cleared them of involvement in the razing of the Babri Mosque.
The government has in the past turned down demands for the resignation of the ministers saying that being charged was insufficient reason for seeking their removal.
(Reuter)
The Parliament adjournment puts off India's response to Pakistan's offer of restraint in Kashmir, a week after New Delhi adopted a cease-fire in the disputed Himalayan region.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh was scheduled to deliver a detailed response in both houses of Parliament on Tuesday to Pakistan's decision at the weekend to observe restraint along a military Line of Control running through Kashmir.
The speaker of the Lower House, Ganti M. Balayogi, adjourned the chamber till Wednesday after slogan-shouting opposition members trooped to the center of the house.
Shortly after, the Upper House of Parliament too was adjourned after opposition deputies insisted that the government drop all business and take up the issue of those involved in the destruction of the mosque.
"We want resignations, we want resignations...", members of the Samajwadi Party said.
Interior Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Sports Minister Uma Bharti are among those charged for the 1992 destruction of the mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.
Some 3,000 people died in religious riots across the country after Hindu fundamentalists brought down the mosque saying that it was the site of a temple to the Hindu god-king Rama.
Congress members raising the temple-mosque issue for a second day running said there could not be a fair trial until the three ministers resigned.
Earlier on Monday, Balayogi ordered the chamber to be suspended until Tuesday after lawmakers from the Congress Party insisted that the three ministers step down until the courts had cleared them of involvement in the razing of the Babri Mosque.
The government has in the past turned down demands for the resignation of the ministers saying that being charged was insufficient reason for seeking their removal.
(Reuter)