Parliament Logjam: Govt Reaches Out To Oppn To Resume Proceedings, LoP Calls For Strategy Meeting

Parliamentary discussions on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address likely to resume after disruptions caused by the opposition's demand for a JPC investigation.

Parliament is expected to resume discussions today on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address' after three days of disruptions as the government reached out to the opposition to end the logjam. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday held meetings with floor leaders of opposition parties after both Houses were adjourned for the day, PTI reported.

The ministers held talks with floor leaders from various political parties, including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress, Sudeep Bandopadhyay of the TMC, and TR Baalu of the DMK. During the meetings, leaders from different parties agreed that discussions should be focused on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

Chances of Parliament functioning normally on Tuesday to take up a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address are "bright", opposition sources told PTI.

Oppn. Meeting Ahead Of Tuesday's Parliament Functioning

Another meeting has been called by Congress president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday to chalk out the Opposition’s strategy ahead. A fresh meeting has been called after a difference of opinion emerged on Monday with the Trinamool Congress favouring a discussion than a log jam in the two Houses to “expose” the Modi government.

TMC skipped the meeting of opposition leaders on Monday morning but joined them in a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex.

Monday's meeting called to coordinate a joint strategy in the House was held in the chamber of LoP and attended by leaders of the Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JDU, SP, CPM, CPI, JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena.  

Oppn Protests

The opposition parties have been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the investments done by the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and entities like LIC in the Adani Group and the alleged financial irregularities of the Indian conglomerate by the Hindenburg report.

The opposition has been highlighting the matter and stalled proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for three consecutive days with little progress being made since the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1.

The ruling BJP party has argued that Parliament should not discuss private entities and that the opposition should raise the Adani issue during the traditional debate on the President's address.

Some opposition leaders believe that it would be more appropriate to raise the issue during the Motion of Thanks discussion, while others believe that the disruptions should continue.