Opposition parties on Sunday demanded a discussion on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and national security in an all-party meeting ahead of the Winter Session beginning December 1, with the government saying it would engage with everyone to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.
As many as 50 leaders of 36 political parties attended the meeting convened by the government ahead of the session.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, and his two deputies Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan, attended the meeting.
While the SIR continued to dominate the meeting proceedings, several other issues, like national security in the wake of the Delhi blast, and labour codes were also raised by the leaders.
Some raised the point of federalism, alleging that governors were sitting on bills passed by the state legislatures and funds of opposition-ruled states were being blocked.
Even though he gave no assurance to the opposition, Rijiju said the House must be allowed to function.
"This is the Winter Session of Parliament and everyone should think and conduct themselves with a cool mind," he told reporters after the two-hour long meeting.
"Parliament should not be stalled and it should function smoothly. The government will keep discussing with all parties to ensure smooth functioning of the House," he said.
Asked if the opposition's demand for a discussion on SIR will be accepted, Rijiju said the agenda of the session will be decided by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) this evening.
"There are differences among political parties, but if we decide not to disturb the House then productivity will rise, democracy strengthened and Parliament's respect among people enhanced," he said.
Opposition leaders at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting of the Rajya Sabha on Sunday demanded a short discussion on the matter in the Upper House on Monday, a source said.
Later in the day, a BAC meeting was called and it was chaired by Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan.
A source said that at the meeting the opposition parties agreed to cooperate to ensure smooth functioning of the House, and urged the Rajya Sabha chairman to allow a discussion on the SIR exercise on Monday.
"... the opposition parties conveyed that they want Parliament to run smoothly. They also sought a short discussion on the urgent need for further electoral reforms at 2 pm on Monday. If the discussion is not held, the government must be held responsible for disrupting Parliament, they said," the source said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed the all-party meeting "a mere formality" and said the Narendra Modi government had made its intentions clear by listing a subject for a short duration for discussion without any consultation with the Opposition.
"This session of 15 days will be the shortest in Parliamentary history. The Modi government has listed 13 Bills for passage. Of these one replaces an ordinance and two have gone through a committee of the Lok Sabha. So 10 Bills have not been examined by the Standing Committee concerned," he said.
Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleged that the ruling party wanted to finish off democracy, derail Parliament, and bury parliamentary traditions.
The Congress, he said, demanded a discussion on national security, air pollution, purity of voter list, foreign policy, and issues of farmers who are not getting the right price for their crops.
"It seems the government, under the leadership of the prime minister and the home minister, is looking to finish off India's democracy and parliamentary traditions," he told reporters after the meeting.
"The EC before, during and after elections is acting in a biased manner. There should be a discussion on the purity of the voter list," he said.
Gogoi also said India's foreign policy was being forged on the basis of action of other countries.
Congress' deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said, "The opposition parties feel that if no discussion is held on SIR, this means the government does not want Parliament to function."
He also alleged that Modi failed in fulfilling his responsibility of participating in Parliamentary discussions despite coming to the House.
Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav said his party would not allow Parliament to function if discussion on the SIR is not held.
"We will not allow the House to function if discussion is not held on SIR," he told reporters, adding, several BLOs killed themselves as they had been told to delete specific votes.
CPI-M leader John Brittas said if Parliament is disrupted, full responsibility will be of the government.
He also said that the Red Fort blast exposed the government and necessitated a discussion on national security.
Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee said his party was ready to cooperate in running the House provided treasury benches respond with similar gestures.
"The government should allow discussion on issues such as SIR. Forty persons have lost their lives conducting SIR exercise," Banerjee said, alleging that the objective of EC was to delete votes through SIR.
Banerjee alleged that the government allocated itself 70 per cent of the Houses' time and that its tendency has been to pass the bills in the din.
"There has been a serious breach of national security in the wake of the Delhi blast and this calls for an elaborate discussion," Banerjee said.
She alleged that the prime minister used the word 'ghuspaithiya' in his poll campaign for Bihar, but the SIR in the state proved otherwise.
"We hope good sense will prevail … and a discussion on SIR is held," Banerjee said.
Tiruchi Siva of the DMK said the Opposition is unanimous in demanding a discussion on SIR.
"The government has listed 14 bills. The common issue for the opposition is SIR," Siva said.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar raised the issue of national security in the wake of the Delhi blast, alleged irregularities in SIR, and demanded a discussion on air pollution.
BJD's Sasmit Patra said all parties demanded a discussion on SIR, but his party wants a discussion of the electoral reforms.
The Winter session commences on Monday and will conclude on December 19.
