New Delhi, Aug 5: With the deadlock in Parliament entering third week, the government on Wednesday approached Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to end the logjam and pave the way for smooth functioning of Parliament. However, sources indicated that Rahul Gandhi has said not to
Soon after the Lok Sabha was adjourned within minutes after assembling in the morning, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju went to meet Rahul Gandhi in his chamber.
During the meeting, sources said Rijiju sought the Congress’s cooperation on the Delimitation Bill and the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill that the government is keen to bring again in the current session.
The sources claimed that Rahul Gandhi, however, rejected the government’s request.
The Leader of Opposition told Kiren Rijiju that there can be no business in the House until there is a discussion on the alleged donation theft at the Ram Mandir and a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah on police action against students during the July 20 protest in the Capital, sources said.
The source further said that Rahul Gandhi told Rijiju that the opposition is not demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah but they are only seeking a statement from him in Parliament, and he will have to make that statement.
Following his meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rijiju briefed Speaker Om Birla about the discussion he had with Rahul Gandhi.
Rijiju then also met Shah to inform him about the conversation with Rahul Gandhi.
The firm stand by the opposition parties has put a spanner in the government’s plan to pass the Delimitation Bill in this session.
On the back of new numbers in the House, thanks to defections from the Trinamool Congress and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, the government had, as per sources, hoped to push through the contentious bill that failed in the last session.
Shah has come under fire from the opposition parties over the police excesses during July 20 protest on students, demanding a statement from him in the House.
However, the government has rejected the opposition’s charge, and has maintained that it is the magistrate who decides on the use of force during a protest, not the Home Minister.
The Opposition, led by the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has also been attacking the Centre over the alleged donation embezzlement at the Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir and has been demanding a discussion on the subject.
Earlier in the day, Opposition parties carried out march from Mahatma Gandhi statue to Makar Dwar seeking statement by the Home Minister in both the Houses, discussion on Ram temple donation embezzlement and restoring the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lok Sabha was on Wednesday adjourned for the day as the Opposition continued its sloganeering over various issues, including police action against students.
