Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Monday that the National Democratic Alliance government and the Opposition have agreed to break the deadlock in Parliament, PTI reported.
The Winter Session of Parliament has seen repeated adjournments in both Houses since it began on November 25, due to demands from the Opposition for a discussion on the alleged fraud charges against Gautam Adani in the United States, the ethnic violence in Manipur and the unrest in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal.
Rijiju expressed confidence that the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha would function smoothly on Tuesday. Both Houses had been adjourned on Monday.
Rijiju told reporters that a consensus had been reached between the Union government and the Opposition after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met with the floor leaders of several parties, ANI reported.
“Everyone has expected that discussions will be held from tomorrow [Tuesday],” he said.
The minister noted that the Opposition parties had made several demands, including a discussion on the Constitution in both Houses of Parliament to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the document by the Constituent Assembly.
The discussion on the Constitution will take place on December 13 and 14 in the Lok Sabha, Rijiju said. “On December 16-17, discussion [on the Constitution] will be held in Rajya Sabha,” he added.
“Speaker [Birla] also said that if anyone wants to raise an issue, there is a rule for it,” Rijiju said, according to ANI. “You can submit a notice for it but creating a ruckus in Parliament and obstructing the functioning is not good.”
Floor leaders in the Lok Sabha present at the meeting with Birla included Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, Telugu Desam Party MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s TR Baalu, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule and Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee.
Banerjee on Monday said he was hopeful that Parliament would resume its normal functioning from Tuesday, ANI reported. “The speaker will allow a discussion on the Sambhal incident and Bangladesh issue tomorrow,” he added.
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