Parliament Winter Session: Centre Calls Meeting Of 5 Parties On Monday Over Suspension Of MPs From RS

According to Sanjay Raut, the meeting has been called to break the deadlock between the government and the Opposition in the House

Representative Photo: Getty Images

New Delhi: The Union government has called a meeting of five political parties on Monday whose Members of Parliament have been suspended from Rajya Sabha, news agency ANI reported Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut as saying. 

According to him, the meeting has been called to break the deadlock between the government and the Opposition in the House as just four days remain for the culmination of the ongoing Winter session of the Parliament.

Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Raut said that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has called a meeting of leaders of five political parties - Congress, TMC, Shiv Sena, CPI(M) and CPI whose Rajya Sabha MPs have been suspended. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday at 10 am in Parliament Library Building.

“The Opposition leaders will meet in Parliament tomorrow morning to take a decision on taking part in the meeting called by the Government,” Raut further told ANI. 

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of floor leaders from like-minded parties tomorrow at 9:45 AM in Parliament.

Congress, TMC Slam Centre For Not Inviting All Oppn Parties

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday questioned the Centre for not inviting all Opposition parties for the meeting.

In a letter today addressed to Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, Kharge wrote: “I have received your letter of December 19th (7:10 PM) asking leaders of the four parties whose members in the Rajya Sabha have been suspended, to a meeting to be taken by Piyush Goyal and you at 10 AM tomorrow.”

“All Opposition parties are united in the protest against the suspension of the 12 MPs. We have been requesting from the evening of November 29th itself that either the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Leader of the House Piyush Goyal should call leaders of all Opposition parties for a discussion to break the stalemate,” the Congress leader stated.

“This reasonable request of ours has not been agreed to. Further inviting only leaders of four Opposition parties instead of inviting leaders of all Opposition parties is unfair and unfortunate,” he added, as quoted by ANI.

Rajya Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien also criticised the Union government for calling only four parties for the meeting, terming it as a “Monday Morning Stunt”. He later corrected the count to five.

“Monday morning STUNT from a government who do not want Parliament to function. Government calls leaders of the four Opposition parties whose 12 Rajya Sabha MPs have been arbitrarily suspended. Government leaves other 10 Opposition parties out. Failed stunt. ALL OPPN clear: first revoke arbitrary suspension,” the TMC MP tweeted.

Taking to Twitter, CPl MP Binoy Viswam wrote: “Opposition united is fighting the suspension of 12 MPs. Calling 5 parties for discussion at the fag end of the session is to divide the Opposition unity. CPI will not subscribe to it. Final decision will be taken tomorrow in the joined Opposition meeting”.

12 MPs Suspended From Rajya Sabha

12 Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended from the Upper House on the first day of the Parliament’s Winter Session. The MPs who were suspended for the remaining part of the current session comprise six from the Congress, two each from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, and one each from CPI and CPM: Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh of Congress; Dola Sen, Shanta Chhetri of Trinamool Congress; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of Shiv Sena; Elamaram Kareem of CPM; and, Binoy Viswam of CPI.

After the suspension, all 12 MPs have been sitting on Dharna daily in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament. 

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister had earlier stated that Centre was ready to consider revoking the suspension of the MPs if they apologise for their conduct in the House. However, the Opposition leaders rejected the government’s proposal, saying that they would not seek an apology. 

Recently, Rajya Sabha was adjourned several times due to the uproar in the Upper House by the Opposition parties demanding to revoke the suspension of MPs.

The ongoing Winter session of the Parliament is scheduled to culminate on December 23.

(With Agency Inputs)