Swaraj, Bansal clash in House
The BJP staged a walk out in protest against foreign affairs minister S.M. Krishna’s reply on the Indians being held hostage by the Somali pirates.
A war of words ensued between Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who raised the issue during Zero Hour and parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal after Ms Swaraj demanded a statement from the foreign affairs minister on the issue.
While Mr Bansal said he would convey the message to the foreign minister, who was not in the House, Ms Swaraj stressed on a government statement at the earliest. Wednesday is the deadline set by the pirates for the release of hostages in lieu of their demands and they had threatened to kill them if their demands were not met, she said.
Ms Swaraj further said the government should take immediate steps to ensure the safe release of the Indian’s being held hostage by the Somali pirates.
She said the government should have a long-term policy to deal with the growing problem.
Terming the problem a complicated one, Mr Krishna said the Indian government had asked the ship owners to negotiate with the pirates.
He also said the government was taking up the issue with the transitional government in Somalia. This infuriated the Leader of the Opposition, who said the reply showed government’s helplessness. She then decided to walk out in protest.
The foreign minister said there were seven ships with 79 Indian crew, which were being held hostage by the Somali pirates. Mr Krishna said he had met the ambassador of Egypt in India and asked him to facilitate the release of Indian hostages on the ship MV Suez.
He said the Indian ambassador in Kenya had asked the head of the transitional government in Somalia to facilitate the safe release of Indian’s in the custody of the Somali pirates.
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