When Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the Rajya Sabha, he sat, he heard and left. But his presence failed to resolve the four-day deadlock with the Opposition insisting on holding a “conditional” debate on the conversion row where the PM was required to sit through the proceedings and reply to the points raised.
As a result, noise and disruption continued on Thursday even as the PM sat patiently during the Question Hour and mutely watched the unfolding ruckus. On any other Thursday, he would have taken up questions related to the PMO since the day is marked out for the PM in the Question Hour, but that was not to happen. With the Opposition not ready to hold a debate on the conversion without PM agreeing to give a reply and the treasury benches refusing to oblige, the deadlock continued.
Wary that even after the PM’s reply, the Opposition would not relent, as happened in the case of Modi’s clarification in the Rajya Sabha on the controversial utterances by Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, the Government was not willing to take another chance.
“In this very House, the PM made a statement on request of the Opposition. Three days after the PM’s statement, the House was not allowed to function. If they want (discussion), let it start just now,” leader of the House Arun Jaitley said.
At one point of time a breakthrough seemed to be in the offing when Jaitley, in consultation with the PM, suggested that the discussion on the topic can begin immediately cancelling all other listed business.
But even as the Opposition scrambled to take position, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu stood up to dispel any notions that PM will give a reply.
He said that the PM had full faith in his Ministers, hence, the debate will be replied by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. That ended whatever little window of hope had opened for the deadlock to end.
“The Prime Minister should reply,” said Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), Anand Sharma (Congress), Sharad Yadav (JD-U) and Derek O’Brien (AITC). Yadav argued that since the PM was already present in the House, he should listen to members and then reply as there is “unease” both inside and outside the House. “Opposition is serious to end the deadlock. The Prime Minister is a good speaker. He should reply to our concerns,” added Sharma. BSP’s Mayawati said the Government should not make PM’s reply a ‘prestige issue.’
But that all this did not yield any breakthrough. Instead, countering Yadav, Naidu said: “Country is quiet and calm and there is no issue. Some people are trying to create commotion by raising this issue.”
With legislative business coming to halt, Jaitley attacked Opposition saying it was showing “arrogance of numbers” to which Yechury termed the functioning of the lok Sabha as “tyranny of a majority.”
With each passing day, the Opposition is now firm: “No PM, no House.” So is the BJP, which says Opposition cannot dictate terms. ResultIJ No business expected even on Friday, and the next week too appears to be a washout.