India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday filed a privilege motion against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for announcing his decision to reject setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the alleged phone-tapping matter.

A privileged motion is a motion in Parliamentary procedure that is granted precedence over ordinary business because it concerns matters of great importance or urgency.

Members of Parliament (MPs) submitted the petition to Lok Sabha or Lower House of Parliament Secretary General P.D.T. Achary.

The motion has been signed by more than 50 BJP MPs. This came close on the heels of Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj objecting to the Prime Minister's announcement on the issue.

"This is a disrespect to the House. The Prime Minister should give a statement in the House on the issue," Swaraj said in Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Parliament.

"It is a serious matter as phones of even Cabinet ministers are tapped," she said.

The Indian government has denied phone-tapping four key politicians, from both governing and opposition parties, as was revealed by a report of the magazine "Outlook" last week.

BJP has also demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee into the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament controversy.

Privileged motions are not debatable, although in case of questions of privilege, the Chair may feel the need to elicit relevant facts from members.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments