Spell out losses to govt for Parliament disruption: Khurshid to BJP

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Making a counter attack on BJP for stalling Parliament over the coal block allocation issue, Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Monday wanted to know the amount of loss the country is incurring for disruption of the House.

"What is the total loss to the country because of what BJP is doing (in Parliament)?" Khurshid asked.

Talking to reporters outside Parliament, he said, "The presumptive, the real (or) imaginary, what is the loss? Why not BJP gives us how much the loss they are causing to the country by doing what they are doing in Parliament?"

Parliament was deadlocked for the ninth day on Monday on the issue of CAG report on coal block allocation as BJP persisted with its demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"Everyday, the country is losing not just the time in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...but in terms of what they (BJP) are doing by paralysing the decisions and legislation we want to take, whatever we want to do fight corruption.

"All those legislations were deliberately being prevented from being passed by BJP. This is a clear indication that BJP is not interested in associating with the system which is transparent and makes people accountable," Khurshid said.

On BJP's condition for allowing discussion in Parliament only after the cancellation of coal block allocations, the Law Minister dismissed it by saying, "It is not a way."

When told that if cancellations were made and the blocks were auctioned then the exchequer will earn more money, he said, "Exchequer is not everything. If Finance Ministry doubled the Income Tax then also more money will come to exchequer."