PM Narendra Modi meets all to put House in order

A day before the commencement of the Monsoon Session, the prime movers in the Capital showed indications that the Session is in for some stormy proceedings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened an all-party meet, urging Opposition leaders to let the House function smoothly.

During the meeting, PM Modi said that he hoped that each party would raise issues of public importance in the larger interest of the country. "The entire country expects and hopes Parliament will function and debate issues of national interest," said parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar.

Since this Session could either be the last or the second-last full session ahead of the 2019 General Elections, the government is leaving no stone unturned to get as many legislations passed as possible. Currently, there are 68 Bills pending in the Parliament. The Budget Session was a washout, with only 10 per cent of the working hours used to conduct business.

The government claimed that the Opposition had assured them of smooth functioning of both Houses of Parliament. Opposition leaders said that they raised a number of issues with PM Modi. Some of these include the ending of reservation for SC/ST category people in appointments in higher education and bringing in law to stop lynching as per the Supreme Court's directive.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the Opposition wants the House to function. "We want the House to function. It is the government that is disrupting the proceedings," he said.

CPI leader D Raja said there are burning issues on which the government can no longer evade any discussion. Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav said that his party is keen to raise the issue of withdrawal of SC/ST appointments in higher education. "We will not allow the House to function till an assurance is given by the government on the floor of the House," said Yadav.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh said that he raised the issue of the Centre's discrimination against the Delhi government during the meeting. "Our government is not being allowed to function and the Lieutenant Governor is trying to run the national capital," he said.

After the BJP's all-party meeting, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan hosted a dinner for all party MPs to urge them to allow the House to function. On Tuesday, however, eight MPs from different parties wrote back to her and said that it was the government that was not letting the House function.

The letter was signed by Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge and Jyotiraditya Scindia, CPIM's Mohd Salim, SP's Dharmendra Yadav, NCP's Tariq Anwar, RJD's Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav, AAP's Bhagwant Mann, IUML's PK Kunhalikutty, and CPI's CN Jayadevan.

In a separate meeting, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkiah Naidu also convened an all-party meeting to ensure a smooth session. Expressing anguish over the last two sessions of the Upper House ending in a 'loose-loose' situation for all, he urged all parties and leaders to ensure a 'win-win' monsoon session. Azad said that 90 per cent of the parties in the House always desired smooth functioning of the House. He said the Opposition had listed 10 issues for discussion in the previous session but could not take up due to disruptions.