“India's Parliament became a noisy stage of political theater on Monday, as opposition lawmakers shouted down Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's attempt to rebut claims that his government had awarded sweetheart coal deals to power companies, the latest scandal to hit his administration,†Jim Yardley wrote in The New York Times.
“Resign! Resign!†some Bharatiya Janata lawmakers screamed, as Mr. Singh, almost inaudibly, moved for the house to accept his written statement.
“Manmohan Singh, leave the chair!†went another chant.
The confrontation on Monday suggested that the current “monsoon†session of Parliament was likely to be little different from several other sessions during the past three years, in which political tactics trumped substance. This session, which ends on Sept. 7, has an ambitious docket, with important bills pending on food security, corruption and land acquisition. So far, though, not a single one has been passed in the lower house. Last week, Bharatiya Janata lawmakers forced repeated adjournments, shouting and protesting over the coal scandal.
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