LS begins work as logjam finally ends
Singh says tradition of thanking the Prez should not be broken; Oppn decides to join the House debate
NEW DELHI: After Lok Sabha proceedings were blocked for four consecutive days last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh stepped in on Monday for intense negotiations to salvage the debate on the President’s speech in the Lower House.
Though the Lok Sabha started on Monday afternoon with the usual disruptions as the Opposition again demanded a separate debate on the farm laws -- some leaders, including Congress MPS Manish Tewari and Jasbir Gill and CPI(M)’S AM Ariff, pushed adjournment motion notices demanding the repealing of three laws -- but the matter was eventually resolved in a closed-door meeting.
Singh, along with ministers Piyush Goyal and Prahlad Joshi invited the Opposition for talks to the Speaker’s chamber, to find a resolution. According to people familiar with the matter, Singh said that the week’s agenda is already decided (debates on President speech and general budget) and appealed to the MPS that the House has a long tradition of passing the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, urging them not to break this tradition.
The Congress floor leader Adhir Chowdhury said that they don’t want to disrespect the President, but were voicing concern over a serious issue. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that if both sides can find a solution, he will give as much time as required to debate all issues including the farmers’ protests.
With Congress agreeing to this, other Opposition parties too decided to join the debate. The only party that expressed serious reservation was the Shiromani Akali Dal. Its leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal refused to budge, and Rajnath once again, spoke to her separately.
It was decided that Singh will make an appeal in the House, following which the debate will start. Minutes later, after the House convened at 5pm, Singh said the tradition of thanking the President has been continuing for long and it should not be broken in a healthy democracy. He also said that Rajya Sabha has already passed the Motion of Thanks after PM Narendra Modi’s reply and “I appeal to members not to break this tradition in the Lok Sabha”.