NEW DELHI, AUGUST 16, 2004
IANS
The trend of boycotts in parliament continued Monday
despite a government-opposition rapprochement as Sikh MPs walked out
on union minister Jagdish Tytler in the Lok Sabha.
Members of the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
staged a walkout when Tytler -- who was an accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh
riots -- took questions during the first hour of the lower house as
parliament resumed its budget session after a three-week break.
Akali MPs protested Tytler's induction in the government
despite his alleged involvement in the 1984 riots in which hundreds
of Sikhs were killed in the aftermath of the assassination of then prime
minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
A defensive Tytler, who is minister in charge of non-resident
Indian affairs, emphatically denied any role in the riots and regretted
that he had been maligned all these years without proof.
"My name is not in the (police complaint),"
he told the house. "If somebody can prove any provocative statement
on my part or my involvement in the case I am ready to face the consequences."
The criticism against him was all politically motivated,
he asserted.
After the Akali MPs walked out, however, Tytler proceeded
to give answers on behalf of Sports and Youth Minister Sunil Dutt, who
is out of the country.
The opposition has been boycotting "tainted"
ministers ever since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) took power
in May. The formal boycott ended after a carefully worked out deal,
but the opposition has not withdrawn the demand for the sacking of these
ministers.