Govt, Opposition trade barbs

The matter of the Amethi food park yet again echoed in the Lok Sabha today with the ruling party and the Opposition led by the Congress trading barbs that led to two adjournments and a walkout.

The Congress even moved in Speaker Sumitra Mahajan questioning her impartiality for which a “deep regret” was offered latter.

It all started when Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal got up to make a statement on the food lawn. Congress members insisted that the minister was being allowed to make repeated statements on the similar problem. The Speaker told the minister was not able to make her whole statement previously, so the opportunity was given to her to speak again.

The issue was picked up by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is the member of the Lok Sabha from Amethi.

The government today said the mega food park was cancelled after the promoter company failed to comply with requisite conditions for approval. In a detailed application, explained in the Lok Sabha amid din created by Congress leaders, Harsimrat said the food lawn’s promoter company had expressed its inability to pursue the project in the absence of sponsored natural gas, whose appointment was refused by the previous government in December 2012. The issue refers to cancellation of proposed Shaktiman Mega Food Park in Amethi.

Rahul had attacked the government over the issue and also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of practising politics of revenge.

Harsimrat said in view of inordinate delay by the promoter company in meeting the “pre-conditions for final permission, in-standard approval bestow to the project by the Ministry was aborted”. The choice of the cancellation was conveyed to the promoter company on July 11, 2014, she included.

Showing concern over the Chair allowing the government to issue statements repeatedly on the same issue, Congress member Deepender Hooda said it was not natural justice.