NDA boycott on Somnath's breakfast menu

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee will meet Leader of Opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani on Tuesday over breakfast and discuss ways to break the deadlock over the opposition boycott of parliamentary committees.

The Budget Session will resume in a fortnight. The parliamentary committees need to be constituted to scrutinise the demands for grants of various ministries and to report to Parliament before the session begins.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had taken strong exception to Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee condemning the behaviour of some opposition MPs obstructing the Speaker from making observations. "It is an unprecedented incident in the House that the Speaker, who is the custodian, is not allowed to make a statement," he had said.

The BJP countered by announcing a boycott of parliamentary panels.

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"Pranab Mukherjee, as leader of the House, must withdraw his statement if there is to be any solution to the ongoing confrontation between the opposition and the ruling combine," a senior BJP leader said.

Mukherjee had ruled out withdrawing his statement hoping 'better sense' would prevail and the Opposition would join the parliamentary committees.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had rejected the opposition charge that the United Progressive Government was adopting a 'confrontationist' approach.