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NT Bureau | Sat, 28 Nov, 2009,02:09 PM |
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AIADMK general secretaryJ Jayalalithaa said Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers M K Alagiri is answerable to voters on his absence in Parliament and failing to answer questions relating to his Ministry.
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In a statement, she said the news report that Alagiri was not available in Parliament to reply to the questions relating to his department was most distressing. The reason given by him for his absence only revealed his irreverence to the responsible office he holds.
He is quoted by a newspaper as having claimed that he had a ‘personal function to attend’, which kept him away from Parliament. Alagiri should tell the nation what that personal function was and in what way it was more important than attending to his ordained Parliamentary duties.
Lakhs of people had purportedly cast their votes in his favour not for attending functions but to discharge his functions as a Parliamentarian and Union Minister. He is answerable to them if he had genuinely been voted for by them. He is also reported to have queried: ‘What is the big question they (the Opposition) have asked?’ This clearly is an indication of his supreme irreverence for the institution of Parliament and the Opposition,’ she said.
Stating that the incident should not be viewed in isolation, the former Chief Minister added: ‘It should be considered in the larger context of his continued absence from Parliament whenever questions relating to his Ministry are taken up.
Each time questions relating to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers came up, the ruling coalition has been forced to field the Minister of State, Srikant Jena. One reason being touted is the inability of Alagiri to transact in Hindi or English, which are recognised as the official languages in Parliament under Article 120 of the Constitution.’
The AIADMK chief added: ‘Alagiri’s father Karunanidhi claims that he has won for the Tamil language the status of a ‘Classical’ language. But he seems to be unconcerned about the secondary status accorded to Tamil in Parliament.
He also seems to be equally unconcerned about his son’s language-inflicted discomfiture in Parliament. His sole intent seems to be to keep Alagiri out of his hair in State politics in Tamilnadu. In the process, the people of Madurai have to make do with a Member of Parliament who does not represent them at all. And India has to put up with a Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers who does not function. All this to ensure peace in one family.’
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