New Delhi: The government and opposition parties reached an agreement on Monday to break the week-long impasse in Parliament with the dates announced for a discussion on the Constitution, to mark its 75th year of adoption, in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Lower House will take up the discussion on the Constitution on December 13 and 14, and the Upper House on December 16 and 17, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said following a meeting Speaker Om Birla held with floor leaders of different parties.
Opposition parties had demanded discussions in both Houses of Parliament to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly. Rijiju told reporters that all parties have agreed to allow Parliament to function from Tuesday, and both Houses will take up their listed agenda items. He expressed confidence that Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will function smoothly from Tuesday.
Following back-channel talks, the breakthrough was achieved at the meeting chaired by Birla and attended by Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, DMK's T R Baalu and TMC's Kalyan Banerjee among others besides Rijiju and his deputy in the ministry Arjun Ram Meghwal. Several opposition leaders, who attended the meeting, also echoed Rijiju's views about Parliament functioning smoothly from Tuesday.
Asked about other issues being raised by the opposition such as the Sambhal violence and the unrest in Manipur, Rijiju said Birla has made it clear that any matter can be raised in line with the rules, while requesting parties to allow Parliament to function smoothly. Sources said the Samajwadi Party may be allowed to raise the Sambhal issue and the TMC the events in Bangladesh following the deposition of the Sheikh Hasina government.
The Congress has been persistent in raising the issue of indictment by US prosecutors of Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani and other company officials on bribery and fraud charges. This coupled with vociferous opposition protests over matters such as the Sambhal violence and Manipur unrest have resulted in constant adjournments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha since the Winter Session began on November 25.
However, some other opposition parties, especially the TMC, have not attached the same priority to the Adani row and want Parliament to discuss a host of different issues, including unemployment, price rise and the Centre's alleged discrimination against opposition-ruled states in fund allocation. The TMC has skipped opposition meetings on formulating the INDIA bloc's joint strategy during the session.
A TMC source said his party cannot be there just to stamp its approval on the Congress' agenda. The Congress and many of its allies have also been vocal in targeting the ruling BJP for its alleged attack on the Constitution under the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP on the other hand has projected the main opposition party as the principal violator of constitutional norms and spirit when it was in power, asserting that the Modi government has strengthened constitutional practices and principles during its over 10-year tenure. Proceedings in both Houses were adjourned for yet another day on Monday amid protests by opposition members over the Adani indictment row, recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and other issues.
Rijiju said every party expressed their concern over the deadlock in Parliament. The government, he said, noted that MPs from across the country want to voice their issues and that it was not appropriate to waste taxpayers' money due to the continuing logjam.
