BJP knocks at President's door to reconvene session on Lokpal

Accusing the government of "complete subversion" of Parliament, BJP top brass today met President Pratibha Patil and sought her intervention for reconvening of the session to enable voting on the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha.

Led by LK Advani, party president Nitin Gadkari and leaders of opposition in both Houses Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, the BJP delegation handed over a memorandum to the President seeking a special Parliament session.

The party charged the government with deliberately paralysing Parliamentary proceedings and "contrived disturbances" on the last day of the extended Winter Session to escape the crucial vote on the Lokpal Bill as it lacked a majority in the Rajya Sabha.

"We have sought the President's intervention and expressed our grievance and dissatisfaction on the events that took place in Rajya Sabha on the night of December 29," Advani told reporters after meeting Patil.

Jaitley later said, "We have suggested to the President that she should take the initiative and give a concrete suggestion for reconvening the Parliament session for the voting for creation of a strong Lokpal which was postponed earlier."

The President has said that she would examine various aspects on the matter before taking any action, he said.

The BJP memorandum stated that "this incident has left a blot on India's parliamentary democracy and the nation looks up to you to restore the credibility of India's Parliament."

The BJP memorandum states that "when such a breakdown of the constitutional machinery takes place, the President as a protector and guardian of Indian Constitution must act".