Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi on Monday ruled out sending a parliamentary delegation to Pakistan at this moment 'when Islamabad has not put an end to cross-border terrorism.'
Speaking to Doordarshan News, he said the prime minister and his Cabinet will decide the appropriate time to open such contacts with Pakistan and that is when he will consider the matter.
Expressing concern over the state of affairs in some state legislatures, he said people should reject the representatives who lower the dignity of the House.
Confident of finding a way out on the Women's Reservation Bill, which has been stuck due to opposition by a few parties, he said suspending dissenting members to pass a legislation was not the correct way to go about it.
On being controlled by a remote, he said: "I know you are referring to [Bal] Thackeray. When I became speaker he told me to be impartial. That is what I did. This was borne out by the references of leaders of 23 parties in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the budget session. I function as a true umpire and that has won me the confidence of the House."
