Chidambaram should resign: BJP

BJP on Wednesday disrupted Parliament and vociferously demanded Home Minister P Chidambaram's resignation over "police brutality" on its youth wing workers who were lathi-charged on Tuesday.

"This government is not only corrupt. It is also repressive. First their ministers indulge in corruption and when we oppose they lay atrocities on us," Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said.

Holding Chidambaram responsible for yesterday's lathi-charge on Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha members, Swaraj said this was the third repression in Delhi alone since he took over as Home Minister. "Till now we were demanding his resignation on corruption (his alleged role in 2G scam) but now we want him to resign for this atrocity," she said.

Swaraj listed as the other two incidents of "repression" the beating up of BJP youth wing workers by the police while they were protesting against a seminar held by Kashmiri separatists in the capital and the crackdown on Yoga guru Ramdev's supporters at Ramlila grounds.

Swaraj said the Prime Minister should sack the Home Minister as he was "so arrogant" that he would not pay heed to the Opposition's demand.

Earlier, senior NDA Working Chairperson L K Advani met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and registered his complaint against the "police brutality". He told Mukherjee that this action was totally uncalled for and such atrocities by Delhi police could not have taken place without orders from the higher-ups.

Advani also indicated to Mukherjee that Chidambaram himself seems to have ordered action against the youth wing workers as he had told a section of the media that he did not want another "Ayodhya-like incident".

Swaraj told reporters that some ministers of the UPA government as well as officials of Delhi police say without a hitch that nobody was injured whether it was during the crackdown at Ramlila grounds or yesterday at Jantar Mantar. "One polio affected handicapped person kept pleading with the police but they said we will break your other leg too," said Swaraj.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley alleged that the crackdown on Ramdev's supporters was done in the name of a security threat but separatists from Kashmir and other parts of the country are permitted to hold their meetings.

"When the separatists discussed how this country should be broken up into parts, the Home Minister had said this is freedom of expression and it is not right to stop them. But they lathi-charge BJYM protesters. What is the real policy of this government is not clear," Jaitley said.

Asked if the Opposition would allow Parliament to function tomorrow or disrupt it over its demand for Chidambaram's resignation, Swaraj said BJP and NDA did not want to disrupt proceedings but these events were unanticipated and had forced the Opposition to take a strong stand. "We plan our Parliament strategy every morning in our meeting. Today we decided to disrupt, for tomorrow we will decide. Events are overtaking us. But let me also say that disruption is itself a form of protest. Here disruption and debate are going hand in hand," Swaraj said.

Jaitley insisted that Chidambaram's request for making a statement on the lathi-charge would not help as the Opposition was not interested in hearing a repeat of the Delhi police's version over the "disproportionate" use of force.