New Delhi, Aug 3
An all-party meeting called by the Narendra Modi government on Monday
failed to break the parliamentary logjam, with the Congress and the NDA
government reiterating their positions on resignations over the Lalit
Modi and Vyapam issues.
While the Congress demanded the
resignations of Sushma Swaraj and chief ministers of Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh, the government ruled out any resignations.
The
monsoon session, which began on July 21, has been washed out till date
over the opposition demand for the resignations of External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj and the chief ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh over the former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi and
Vyapam issues.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu
said that the all-party meeting was convened to break the logjam, but
the Congress continued to stick to its demand for the resignations.
"The Congress stuck to its demand of 'first resignations and then only
the house will run'. However, other parties are of the view that the
house should function and there should be debates and discussions on a
lot of issues, from regional to national," he said.
Naidu also
accused the Congress of "targeting" Swaraj and said it was "unfortunate
to say that the government was rigid on its stand.
"In fact, the
Congress is rigid on its stand. Even before the beginning of the
(mosoon) session, the Congress (leaders) said they will not allow the
house to function until the resignations of the BJP leaders. We are
ready for a debate on any issue they want," Naidu said.
Naidu also said that the Congress was running a "smear campaign" against Swaraj.
"Let
the minister respond. She (Swaraj) is ready to put her point in front
of the people. Even the prime minister will respond as and when
required. It's unfair to run a smear campaign against the minister.
Twelve days have gone. Now, please allow the house to function," the
union parliamentary affairs minister said.
Congress leader Ghulam
Nabi Azad said he was happy that the government called the meeting, but
said that "unfortunately, it wants to run the house on its own terms
and conditions".
"This is not how a democracy functions. The
opposition also wants the logjam to end, but our demand is clear cut -
first resignations, then business," he said.
Trinamool Congress
leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said most parties were of the view that the
house should function but it's up to the ruling party (BJP) and the main
opposition party (Congress).
"We have a lot of regional issue we
want to discuss in parliament. The whole of Bengal has been affected by
floods. There are issues of farmers too," Bandopadhyay told the media.
Samajwadi
Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said, "If there will be no solution to the
logjam, ultimately parliamentary democracy will lose."
Leaders
from different opposition parties, including Ghulam Nabi Azad and
Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Sitaram Yechury of the Communist
Party of India-Marxist, Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal-United and Ram
Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist
Congress Party attended the meeting.
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu were present from the government side.
