Sena MP not allowed to clarify remarks against PMO

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 6. The Shiv Sena MP, Mr. Sanjay Nirupam, - whose allegations against the Prime Minister's Office in connection with the Unit Trust of India scandal made headlines last week - was today not allowed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to make a statement in the House. This was conveyed to Mr. Nirupam in the Chairman's chamber.

It is understood that Mr. Nirupam wanted to make a statement on his allegations against the PMO but under the rules of procedure he was disallowed. Rule 241, under which Mr. Nirupam sought permission to make a statement, was not applicable in this instance, he was told.

Later, a four-member Shiv Sena delegation including two Ministers, Mr. Manohar Joshi and Mr. Suresh Prabhu, and two MPs, Mr. Satish Pradhan and Mr. Nirupam, waited outside the Prime Minister's room in Parliament House to meet him. It was said Mr. Nirupam had been asked to apologise to the Prime Minister for dragging the PMO into the UTI scandal, but for whatever reasons the meeting did not take place. Government sources said the Prime Minister did not meet them, but Mr. Joshi told reporters: ``We changed our mind. We did not meet the Prime Minister. We thought it was best to sort out the matter among ourselves first.''

Even as the war of nerves between the two alliance partners in Maharashtra, the Sena and BJP, showed no signs of abating, the signal from the Shiv Sena was that it had not yet made up its mind on apologising to the Prime Minister, privately or publicly.

Earlier, the Rajya Sabha Chairman did not allow Mr Nirupam to make a statement as under the rules a Minister can make a suo motu statement, and a member can do so only if it is by way of a personal explanation in connection with the mention of his name in the House during his absence. Rule 241 states: ``A member may, with the permission of the Chairman, make a personal explanation although there is no question before the Council, but in this case no debatable matter may be brought forward, and no debate shall arise.'' The view was that the Nirupam case could not fall under this rule.

Senior BJP leaders felt the Shiv Sena should make up its mind about its alliance with the BJP and its membership of the NDA. It was noted that the Sena had spoken against the Government's economic and disinvestment policies, it had criticised the BJP for not taking a tough pro-Hindutva stance, and now it had made direct allegations against the PMO. Obviously, that last point was not tolerable.

It was also made clear that any apology from the Sena must be made publicly. ``We are not demanding anything, but after they (the Sena) made all kinds of statements publicly, it is but natural they should say whatever more they want to say also publicly,'' a BJP leader said.

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