Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday appealed to the Opposition to cooperate in the smooth conduct of proceedings after the government offered to debate the students’ issues with Union home minister Amit Shah’s reply to the discussion, as part of another personal initiative to end the ongoing logjam in Parliament.
At the last Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Lok Sabha for the monsoon session, Birla appealed to all opposition parties to end the ongoing disruptions in the House that have crippled the proceedings for the past two weeks. Birla also pointed out that the government has agreed to the Opposition’s main demand: a statement by Shah, and said, “In view of this, the members were requested to participate in the discussion instead of resorting to disruptions and to present their views on issues concerning students.”
The monsoon session, which started on June 20, has reeled under disruptions from the beginning as the Opposition demanded a debate on the students’ issues and the Ram Mandir donation theft case. The government, while offering a discussion on the students’ issues, have not agreed so far on the other demand of the INDIA bloc.
“The Speaker further stated that several important public-interest and legislative matters are pending before the House. He urged all parties to cooperate in making the House meaningful and effective through discussion and dialogue, in accordance with parliamentary norms and traditions,” a senior official said.
Earlier too, Speaker Birla had appealed to leaders of all parties to end the logjam, but the entire Opposition stuck to the demand for a discussion on the police excess against students at Jantar Mantar.
Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien told HT, “Home minister and Prime Minister are not coming to the House. The Speaker must request the two leaders to come to the House. From the beginning of the session, we are asking for the same two debates. The government is now trying to shift the goalposts.”
