Another round of govt-Oppn talks over RS logjam fails

After days of disruption in Parliament over the Manipur issue, the government and the Opposition on Thursday made attempts to break the deadlock and are discussing a middle path to find a solution.

The Parliament has witnessed 11 days of disruptions with the Opposition demanding a discussion on the Manipur violence with a statement from the prime minister in both houses.

With the stalemate in Parliament over Manipur persisting, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi reached out to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders to break the logjam in the Rajya Sabha.

The over half-an-hour meeting between the opposition parties and the government, however, remained inconclusive.

Both the government and the Opposition are hopful of a resolution on the Manipur issue with a debate likely to take place in the Upper House next week.

Government sources said they are working on resolving the demands raised by the Opposition and Home minister Amit Shah may reply to the debate in the Rajya Sabha by the end of next week.

The sources, however, said the opposition parties have suggested a middle path to the government and have climbed down from their demand for a discussion under Rule 267.

They said the Opposition is now working on jointly moving a motion under rule 167 on the Manipur issue and the government has "in principle" agreed to the proposals, but talks are on.

The Opposition now is keen for a discussion on Manipur under any rule. However, they continue to insist on the demand that the prime minister should speak on Manipur inside Parliament.

The Opposition has pointed out that then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had on May 6, 2002 replied to the motion on Gujarat riots issue.

Congress leader and chief whip Jairam Ramesh said, "INDIA parties have offered a middle path solution to the Leader of the House to break the logjam and get a discussion on Manipur going in an uninterrupted manner in the Rajya Sabha. Hope the Modi government agrees."

TMC leader Derek O'Brien also said INDIA parties in Rajya Sabha want a discussion on Manipur.

"We have no ego or arrogance. Manipur needs healing. INDIA parties don't believe in roadblocks. We've offered a concrete 'Middle Path' solution. We remain optimistic that the govt accepts it," O'Brien said on Twitter.

Ramesh also earlier pointed out that those questioning the demand of INDIA parties for a statement by the Prime Minister on Manipur in the Rajya Sabha to be followed by a discussion should recall what had happened in May 2002 in the very same House.

"On May 6, 2002, the Rajya Sabha had a discussion on the following Motion moved four days earlier by Congress MP Shri Arjun Singh: 'That this House expresses its deep sense of anguish on the persistence of violence in Gujarat for over six weeks, leading to the loss of a large number of persons, destruction of property worth crores of rupees and urges the Central government to intervene effectively under Article 355 of the Constitution to protect the lives and properties of the citizens and to provide effective relief and rehabilitation to the victims of violence'."

"At 12:04 pm that day, Dr. Manmohan Singh Leader of the Opposition spoke on the Motion. At 12:26 pm, Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke on the Motion. At 12:56 pm, Shri L.K. Advani Minister of Home Affairs spoke on the Motion. At 1:35 pm, Shri Arjun Singh replied to the debate. At 2:25 pm, the Motion was unanimously adopted," he said on Twitter.

The Opposition in the Rajya Sabha has stuck to its demand for a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both Houses of Parliament, followed by a comprehensive discussion, even though sources said it has relented on its stand for holding such discussion under Rule 267.

But the government has refused to agree to the demand for a statement by the prime minister. It has, however, said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will make a statement on Manipur.

Leader of the Rajya Sabha Goyal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi met with Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House after opposition alliance INDIA skipped a meeting convened by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to ensure smooth functioning of the House.

During the meeting, leaders of the INDIA bloc suggested that an unhindered discussion on Manipur should be initiated in the Rajya Sabha without any time limitation to help end the impasse.

Government sources said there is division in the opposition ranks and some MPs want a discussion to begin any which way, whether the prime minister replies or the home minister, but opposition leaders said their demand for the prime minister's statement was "non-negotiable".

"The opposition is not particular on the rule under which a discussion on Manipur should be held, but it should be a full-fledged discussion without any time restraints," an opposition leader said.

"INDIA parties have offered a middle-path solution to the leader of the House to break the logjam and get a discussion on Manipur going in an uninterrupted manner in the Rajya Sabha. Hope the Modi government agrees," Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha and party general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted after the meeting.

Sources said the opposition parties were proposing a discussion neither under Rule 267 or Rule 176 but under a different rule to which both sides agree.

Another opposition leader said the MPs want to tell the story of Manipur after their visit there and want the country to know what is happening in the state.

"It is not about ego but the prime minister must speak on Manipur and about the people of the country of which Manipur is a part," the leader said.

The opposition bloc leaders in Rajya Sabha have said a statement by the prime minister and a comprehensive discussion on Manipur are non-negotiable.

They are also demanding a discussion on the situation in the northeastern under Rule 267, which allows for the suspension of the listed business for the day to discuss an issue.

The government, however, has agreed to hold a short-duration discussion under Rule 176 of the Rajya Sabha.

The Upper House has been witnessing repeated disruptions over the issue of violence-hit Manipur ever since the beginning of the Monsoon session on July 20.