Ahead of the Parliament’s Winter Session, lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Saturday sought cooperation of all the parties for a smooth and constructive running of the month long sitting of two Houses, beginning Monday.
Addressing the meet which was attended by senior leaders of the parties, the Speaker asked all the party leaders to see that the session does constructive legislative business.Asked about the advancing of zero hour in the lok Sabha, Mahajan said it would be evaluated as per “our experience in the house.”
To another question, the Speaker clarified that Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was being allotted a seat (and not loP status). Mahajan later hosted a dinner for all the leaders. Besides Speaker, the Government has also called an all-party meeting on Saturday to ensure a productive session. Stung by the Saradha chit fund scam, Trinamool Congress Party has decided to skip the all-party meeting called by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Sunday. Citing that the meet was called on a short notice, TMC’s Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said in a tweet, “TMC will skip the all-party meet”.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the BJP-led Government was honestly reaching out to the opposition to run “a positive Winter Session”.“We are making an honest attempt so that we have a positive and constructive session. By reaching out to them (Opposition) and through dialogue, we are hopeful of taking everybody along,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here,” said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State for Parliamentary affairs.
Naqvi said the image of India has gone through a sea change since the Narendra Modi Government has taken over and claimed that power brokers, who were a constant in the power corridors irrespective of who was the Prime Minister, have disappeared since Modi took over.“Prime Ministers would come and go but not these power brokers. They would remain and had big shops. Not now. If a few are still left, they will also disappear soon. Even if you search for them, you won’t find any,” he told a business gathering at an event organised by CSR Research Foundation.
Even Ministers, who used to be a little lax, have become very active because their “captain” is always working, he said.