NEW DELHI: INDIA alliance on Thursday stooped to conquer, offering a “middle path solution” to the government for breaking the impasse in the Rajya sabha on the Manipur unrest causing logjam since start of the monsoon session on July 20.
“INDIA parties have offered a middle path solution to the Leader of the House to break the logjam and get a discussion on Manipur going in an uninterrupted manner in the Rajya Sabha. Hope the Modi government agrees,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted in the afternoon, after a meeting of the leaders convened at 1 PM on a request by leader of House Piyush Goyal.
Over the past two weeks, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have seen repeated disruptions over a disagreement between the Opposition and treasury benches on the rule under which the situation in the northeastern state should be discussed.
The Opposition had been insisting that the discussion on Manipur be held under Rule 267, which provides for suspension of all business to take up key issues. The government, on the other hand, wanted a short duration discussion under Rule 176.
According to sources, the Opposition has put up a proposal that the discussion be held under Rule 267, which has the provision for voting. “The government wants a discussion under Rule 176 and we want it under Rule 267. If there is an agreement over Rule 167, a middle path can be found,” an Opposition MP confided to the media.
There is no clarity at this point on whether the Opposition’s demand to have a statement from Prime Minister Modi continues or has been dropped.
The development comes after several meetings between floor leaders of the government and Opposition to break the logjam in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. One such meeting was also held on Thursday between Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, and the eader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
The government had earlier said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address Parliament on the situation In Manipur, where ethnic violence has claimed more than 200 lives in the past two months.
The Opposition, however, insisted that it is the Prime Minister who should address Parliament.
On the day the new session began, the Prime Minister had spoken to the media while talking to reporters in the Parliament House premises on the Manipur video, saying it had shamed the country. The Opposition has pointed out that the Prime Minister has spoken to the media, but not addressed the House..
The unrest in Manipur came to centre stage a day before the monsoon session owing to the emergence of a horrifying video in which a mob paraded two tribal women naked.
Earlier, the upper house witnessed a display of banter and angry exchange between Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar and Leader of the Opposition Malikarjun Kharge.
The Congress president was arguing in favour of a discussion of the violence in Manipur under Rule 267. The Chair has said that the government is ready to discuss the issue under Rule 176 which provides for a short duration discussion and he will allow the discussion as long as the parties want.
The disagreement over the rule to hold the discussion has blocked proceedings in Upper House for nearly two weeks now.
A notice under Rule 267 demands that all other business be set aside and the issue be taken up on priority. This has been a precedent. I don’t understand how this has become a prestige issue. You told us that there must be a reason to hold a discussion under Rule 267, we have told you the reason,” Kharge told the Chair.
“On Wednesday I requested you, but you were probably angry,” he added, prompting a round of laughter from the benches.
The Chairman was laughed and added, “I am a married man for more than 45 years. I am never angry,” he said, as another round of laughter rang through the House.
He then referred to Congress leader P Chidambaram and said, “Mr Chidambaram, a very distinguished senior advocate will know. As senior advocate, we have no right to show our anger, at least to the authority. You (Kharge) are an authority, Sir.”
As the Chairman pressed Kharge for a “modification” to his remark, the Congress president replied, “You don’t show it, but you are angry within.”
This started another round of laughters. The Chairman joined in too.
Kharge continued, reiterating that despite the Opposition arguments on why the discussion should be held under the Rule 267, the Chairman has said there is no reason to hold it under this rule.
“This has become a prestige issue now. We are raising it daily. They (treasury benches) are opposing it. My suggestion is you call a meeting at 1 pm at your chamber. Till then, the House can be adjourned. We can sort this out and then return at 2 pm,” he said. The chairman did not adjourn and allowed the question hour as well.
The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha told Dhankhar. “You don’t accept even a small suggestion. We demanded that the Prime Minister address the House, you did not accept that. You are defending the Prime Minister,” he said, prompting angry protests by BJP members.
Promptly reacting, the Chairman went into showering lavish praise on the Prime Minister saying that “Our Prime Minister is not required to be defended by me. He has come to be recognised on global platforms. Every Indian must be proud.”
“We must be alive to our situation that we are a nation of more than 1.3 billion people. We are a democracy, functional, vibrant, globally recognised. India is the only democracy in the world that has constitutional democracy up to the village level, the chairman said.
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