Opposition parties foiled the government's move to take up the 'Special Triple Amendment' to the voters' lists for discussion. For the first time, they combined to block the discussion. The government invited opposition leaders to discuss the issue with a view to breaking the impasse. They told the latter that they were prepared to discuss the matter but could not fix any specific time limit for it.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice after the morning session. After lunch, when it reconvened, the opposition raised slogans. Speaker Dilip Saikia took note of the fact that the government was ready to discuss the ongoing SRI in different states and asked the House to continue. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju remarked that frustration over the defeats that happened in the past should not be displayed in the House. He said that even former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had faced defeats. The zero hour ended in ten minutes. Reports from the standing committees have already been submitted.
Scheduled Discussions
The Lok Sabha will discuss the 150th anniversary of the composition of the Vande Mataram song on the 8th of this month. Discussions on electoral reforms are scheduled for the 9th. Minister Rijiju said the decision was taken at an all-party leaders meeting, which Speaker Om Birla chaired ahead of the meeting of the House Affairs Committee, or BAC. Ten hours have been allotted in each House for debate.
He also clarified at a meeting with party leaders from Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, AAP, SP, CPM, and others that opposition parties cannot instruct the government on parliamentary schedules.
Reasons for Rejection of Adjournment Motions
A spat between ruling and opposition parties cropped up in the Rajya Sabha. Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjuna Kharge, said discussion must go ahead as many parties had demanded it under Rule 267. Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan announced that 21 notices for adjournment motions were rejected. Kharge asked on what basis these notices were rejected. Opposition MPs walked out after the government refused to prioritize the discussion on SRI over Vande Mataram.
Opposition Strategy Meeting Opposition leaders will meet on Wednesday morning at Kharge's office to chalk out a joint strategy in the forthcoming parliamentary meetings. Protest at Parliament Several opposition leaders - Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Kanimozhi, T.R. Balu and John Brittas among them- protested at the Parliament's Makardwaram. Rahul Gandhi squarely blamed Prime Minister Modi for not taking up very important discussions. He asked what issue could be more significant than the right to vote.
Tags Cloud
