New Delhi, Dec. 15: L.K. Advani today said he "felt like resigning" as MP, expressing for the second time in eight days his frustration at the continued disruption of Parliament, prompting party ministers to rush to humour him.
"I feel like resigning. The entire Parliament is being disgraced," Advani told a group of ministers and BJP parliamentarians this afternoon, minutes after a deadlocked Lok Sabha had been adjourned for the day.
Tomorrow is the last day of the winter session. Neither House has transacted much business because of the continuing Opposition protest over the demonetisation, with the government benches joining in the disruption since the end of last week after Rahul Gandhi expressed a wish to speak.
Advani appeared so upset today that he remained seated inside the House for almost 15 minutes after the adjournment. Ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and Manoj Sinha were seen crowding around his front-row seat as the veteran poured out his frustration.
"Atalji (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) would have been very sad to see all this. Both sides feel that they have won but the entire Parliament is being shamed," Advani was heard saying.
"Go and tell the Speaker on my behalf that she should call a meeting of the leaders and discuss how the logjam can be resolved. The House should function tomorrow," he told home minister Rajnath.
The ministers were heard assuring Advani that they would talk to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Trinamul MP Idris Ali approached Advani and spoke to him. "I enquired about his health and he told me he was fine but Parliament was sick and that he was very sad," Ali later told reporters.
Ali said that Advani had told him that he felt like resigning.
Rahul Gandhi later tweeted: "Thank you Advaniji for fighting for democratic values within your party."
On December 7, Advani had been heard saying after an adjournment: "It's disgraceful. Neither the parliamentary affairs minister (Ananth Kumar) nor the Speaker is running the House."
He later clarified that his anger had been directed not at the Speaker but at the unruly scenes and the stalling of Parliament.
Some BJP members expressed dismay at the way Advani was airing his anguish. They recalled that when the then Opposition BJP had in 2010 forced a washout of the winter session over the 2G controversy, Advani had been in sync with the strategy.
Led by the then leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj, considered an Advani protégé, the BJP was demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe.
A BJP politician today quoted Advani as having said then that "disruption sometimes yields results".
Party insiders said Advani's "real" frustration had to do with the way he had been sidelined under the current dispensation. They described the veteran's predicament as "sad" but said that nothing could be done about it.
"This is a different regime. There is respect for Advaniji but beyond that he cannot expect much," a BJP source said.
Asked about Advani's outburst, information and broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu said: "Not only Advaniji, everyone has been saddened. The entire country is sad over the way the Opposition is stalling Parliament."
Outside the House, Advani refused to talk to reporters. "I have nothing to say," he said when asked about the continued disruption of the House.
He quietly left for home but returned later in the afternoon for a meeting of the parliamentary panel on information technology, of which he is a member.
In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition repeated its demand for a discussion on demonetisation and accused the government of running away. The government repeated its stand that the Opposition was not interested in a discussion.
The parliamentary affairs minister, backed by party MPs, accused the Congress of corruption by citing the AgustaWestland chopper payoffs case and a purported sting by a TV channel about some small-time Opposition politicians offering to change currency notes against a commission. The House was adjourned for the day with both sides in uproar.
