New Delhi : With the Congress sticking firmly to the ‘no discussion without resignation’ stance, efforts to break the Parliament logjam failed to yield any results.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took the initiative of convening an all party meet on Thursday but the government and the principle opposition, the Congress, could not find any meeting ground. However, with almost all parties in the opposition block insisting that it was primarily the government’s responsibility to ensure smooth functioning of the house, Home Minister Rajnath Singh agreed to convene a meeting with the opposition to break the deadlock. The meeting is likely over the weekend. The monsoon session of Parliament has been a total wash out so far. With only two weeks left for the session, the fate of several bills, most importantly the GST Bill, appears bleak.
‘‘We are only following the path shown by BJP leaders such as Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and LK Advani. During UPA regime, they always claimed that disruption was a
legitimate tool in parliamentary democracy,’’ mocked Congress floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge. He blamed the government for not taking any initiative to tackle the situation. Kharge also tried to show the mirror to the BJP by producing data that Parliament functioning had improved from below 40 percent during UPA regime to above 100 percent this year. ‘‘So government cannot blame us,’’ he argued.
Other than the Congress several opposition parties stressed that they wanted the House to function since they had several issues to raise and discuss. The TMC, SP and RJD floor leaders said they wanted debate. ‘‘We are all for discussion. We have been waiting to raise some important issues like caste census. But it is for the government to find a way out of the impasse’, said RJD’s Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav.
No placards, no trooping into well: Speaker: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked parliamentarians to maintain the decorum of the House by refraining from the display of placards. She also asked them not to come into the well as the rules prohibited it strictly. Mahajan pointed out that some practices were a clear violation of the parliamentary rules such as coming into the well to protest and displaying placards or posters. ‘‘I know these things have been happening for some years but just because it was done in the past does not mean we cannot make a fresh start. There should be no feeling of tit for tat here,’’ Mahajan explained.
The Speaker said she had not imposed anything but requested all the members to think over it and get back to her soon. While opposition leader refused to make a commitment, Sumitra Mahajan said ‘‘I am hopeful. I have always believed in positive thinking all my life.’’
