Govt, Oppn spar in Parliament over PM’s remarks on Manmohan Singh

NEWDELHI: Protests continued to st all business in the Lo kS ab ha on the third day of the winter session over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about his predecessor Man mo han Singh, even as vice-president V en kai ah Na idu’ s call for inter-party negotiations brought some calm to the upper house.

Noting that two days of the session had already been washed out due to protests, Rajya Sabha chairman Naidu asked the Congress and the B JP government to end the stalemate by “talking to each other”.

During the Gujarat campaign, Modi had suggested that Singh and other Congress leaders met Pakistani officials who were trying to influence the election.

Na i du, at an informal meeting with leaders from both parties on Tuesday, stressed he was“bound by house rules” and asked the two sides to resolve the matter.

Sources said that senior representatives of the BJP and Congress– including finance minister A ru nJ a it le ya nd former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad – agreedto work out a solution. “Thisisthe third day(of protests)... and we are losing important business. So I requested that in the interests of democracy and functioning of the parliamentary system, we should come to an understanding ,” N aid ula te rt old the upper house.

Leaders from both the parties met hours later, and it was decided that Jaitley would get back with a possible solution. “We will try to find a solution. It would certainly be a privilege to invite all my colleagues, including the leader of the Opposition (tothe negotiating table),”Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha.

However, Congress lawmakers continued to shout slogans in the Lok Sabha, forcing an adjournment for 30 minutes.