Saturday, June 4 2005 11:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday (Jun 3, 2005) attacked Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee over revised guidelines regarding tours of Parliamentary Committees, saying the move was aimed at "defaming" all MPs and weakening democratic institutions.

"I am opposed to the guidelines. The move is bereft with ignorance," senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi told reporters while commenting on the Speaker's recent decision.

Insisting that everyone, including Ministers, editors, directors in private sector, go on "junkets", he alleged that the Speaker's move was aimed at "defaming all MPs".

The former HRD Minister said the Parliamentary Committees were required to undertake visits to carry out "inquiries". He charged Chatterjee with wanting to impose the West Bengal-style wherein "no inquiries are conducted".

The Speaker recently issued 19-point 'do's and don'ts', which specified that Parliamentary Committees should not undertake on-the-spot study tours unless it was absolutely necessary for proper examination of the subject before the Committee.