A combative opposition staged a symbolic walkout on Sunday at an all-party meeting against the government's invitation to rebel TMC MPs and demanded discussions on issues of Ram temple donation "theft", NEET paper "leak" and E20 petrol in Parliament.
NEW DELHI — A combative opposition staged a symbolic walkout on Sunday at an all-party meeting against the government's invitation to rebel TMC MPs and demanded discussions on issues of Ram temple donation "theft", NEET paper "leak" and E20 petrol in Parliament, setting a fiery tone for the Monsoon session.
After the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said people of the country want smooth functioning of Parliament and "not any turmoil", as he urged all parties to "give their support to bills after positive discussions".
He also defended the decision to invite Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the leaders of the 20-MP rebel TMC group that had joined Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
"The NCPI requested recognition from the Lok Sabha Speaker; how can you ignore them? It is the government's duty to invite everyone," the minister told reporters.
The meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, was attended by Health Minister JP Nadda and 58 leaders from 40 political parties.
Opposition parties including the TMC, Shiv Sena(UBT) and AAP, which have been rocked by desertions since the last session of Parliament, Congress, SP, Left, RJD, DMK and JMM walked out at the start of the meeting, but soon returned after registering their protest against what they described as "miscarriage of justice".
TMC MP Mahua Moitra questioned the government's decision to invite the rebel TMC MPs and said it went out of the way "to recognise them" when the Lok Sabha Speaker has not yet decided on their status.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will commence on Monday and will conclude on August 13.
Rijiju said the government has listed eight bills for the session, and if there is additional business, it will follow necessary procedures.
Asked whether the government intends to bring the earlier-rejected delimitation bill in this session, he said it will discuss the bills in the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee.
"We appealed to everyone to work together for the country. Several parties put forward their points and we have taken note of their suggestions.
"We have urged all parties for their support in the passage of various bills brought by the government after positive discussions. If political parties do not participate in the discussions and indulge in sloganeering, then they face political loss," he said.
"People of the country want Parliament to function smoothly. We also want this. By protesting, no one is going to benefit politically. That is why I request members of all political parties to take part in the proceedings wholeheartedly," Rijiju said.
He said if the opposition protests and creates chaos, the country suffers, and "that is why we want the opposition to take part in the discussions".
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the opposition has sought discussions on the "theft" of donations at Ram Temple, ethanol blending, student issues and the situation in Manipur during the Monsoon session.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh earlier told the meeting that it was "meaningless" to discuss issues at the meeting "as 40 leaders present their views and five leaders hear them out, but those taking decisions do not attend".
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav said he sought discussions on the alleged theft of Ram temple donations and activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike ove the NEET "paper leak" issue.
He said the government can't evade responsibility over the alleged theft of Ram temple donations.
The DMK urged the government to come out with a clear formula on the Constitution amendment bill for providing 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, asserting that the quota should be given on the current strength of the Lower House.
DMK leader T R Baalu told the meeting that the government should implement the women quota bill as passed in 2023 with the present strength of 543 in the Lok Sabha.
"The DMK is in favour of the Women's Reservation Bill on the current strength in the Lok Sabha, but we want more clarity on the delimitation issue," DMK leader Tiruchi Siva told reporters later.
Siva said the delimitation exercise should not adversely affect the southern states. "If it affects the southern states, it should be put in abeyance for 25 years," he said.
CPM leader John Brittas said the invitation to rebel TMC MPs to the all-party meet was a "miscarriage of justice".
TMC's Mahua Moitra said the strength of the All India Trinamool Congress in the list provided by the Table Office showed 28 members and these "so-called rebel 20 MPs'" merger has not been approved by the Speaker.
"Twenty disqualification petitions are still pending. There is no room for a separate bloc after the 91st Amendment of the Constitution. So on what grounds did the Parliamentary Affairs Minister extend an invitation to these 20 rebel MPs and how are they attending this meeting?" she said.
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Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT), whose six MPs joined the Shiv Sena and their merger was approved by the Speaker last evening, said they have protested against the decision and walked out of the meeting symbolically.
"The affiliation was granted to them (the six rebel MPs), but where is that term in the books of law?" he asked.
ND Gupta of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), whose seven out of the 10 Rajya Sabha MPs joined the BJP, said these MPs were "hijacked" and the AAP's petition to decide whether this is valid or not was still pending. "This is a mere hijack and murder of democracy," he said.
TMC rebel MP Bandyopadhyay said he attended the meeting along with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as they were invited to represent the "new party with 20 MPs".
"All 20 MPs want their constituency to be developed properly and not under threat, because we were under threat (under TMC)," Dastidar claimed.
Birla had on Saturday approved separate seating for the 20 rebel TMC lawmakers, who have claimed to have joined the NCPI. No final decision has been taken on the demand of the rebel TMC MPs to be recognised as part of the NCPI, and the matter is still under consideration, sources had said.