'Price rise: Govt has never run away from talks'

After both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day on Tuesday after an uproar on the issue of price rise, Congress said government has never run away from discussion nor will it ever do.

"Government has never run away from discussion, nor will it ever do it . . . United Progressive Allia government has been very sensitive on the issue of price rise and has taken constructive steps to mitigate the woes of the people following the drought," party spokesman Manish Tewari said.

Asked about the Opposition demand for discussion under Rules 167 which entails voting, he said Parliament runs under well established rules and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister has already made clear that what the Opposition wants is not permissible under the rules.

Accusing the opposition of politicising the price rise issue, Tewari asked how many Opposition members of the Parliament were present in the House in the last session when a discussion was taking place on price rise and when agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was giving his reply.

"They (Opposition) are trying to complicate the matters. The Motion of Thanks on President's address entails voting. The Budget also entails voting after discussion on the micro-economic situation of the country," he said, criticising the Opposition for demanding voting on the price rise issue.

"The rules are time-tested. All the government is saying is to bring the motion in the prescribed rules and it will accept them", Tewari said.

Meanwhile, the party reacted cautiously to the ceasefire offer made by naxals.

"The naxals have given a proposal. This has to be verified, examined and analysed by the appropriate authority. When the government comes to a determination, a political party can react after that," Tewari said.