The Indian Parliament remains deadlocked as the Opposition, led by the Congress, insists on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to discussions on alleged donation theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and student protests, rejecting the government's offer for Home Minister Amit Shah to respond.
Opposition parties have agreed to the agenda of taking up a special discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor on Monday in Lok Sabha and the next day in Rajya Sabha, brightening up the prospect of normalcy returning to Parliament after the virtual washout of first-week proceedings.
With the all-party meetings called by Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla producing no breakthrough to end the deadlock in Parliament, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi accused opposition parties of repeatedly 'insulting' Dhankhar.
The TMC also said that the Congress is not the "big boss" of the opposition.
Kiren Rijiju has strongly criticised the Congress for allegedly 'unfairly disrupting' the recent monsoon session.
Major bills, including those on women's reservation, delimitation, and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), face an uncertain future in the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament due to persistent opposition protests and a lack of consensus.
Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee will hold another round of discussions with the Opposition on Monday in yet another bid to break the logjam in Parliament over the telecom scam. This was decided at a meeting of Congress core group attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party President Sonia Gandhi, as Parliament meets on Monday after a virtual washout for the last two weeks. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram also attended the meet.
The Lok Sabha passed two Bills, including one to rename Kerala as Keralam, without debate as Opposition members continued their protests, demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's presence to address police excesses against student protesters and alleged Ram temple fund irregularities.
Parliament embraced Gen Z lingo during a Lok Sabha debate on the crucial anti-paper leak amendment bill.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating he needs to change his "dil ka angle" (heart's perspective) rather than camera angles to connect with Gen Z, following his Instagram outreach to student protesters. She also condemned the government's handling of student protests and the widespread issue of paper leaks.
Even as her party demands the prime minister's resignation, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj has asked the government to announce cancellation of the controversial coal block allocations and institution of an independent inquiry.
Tuesday was the 12th day in a row that Parliament did not functioned and the current stalemate has entered the third week.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the current logjam in Parliament could end if the Opposition and the government sit for a discussion and both move two steps forward.
The second leg of the budget session is of 23 days and all 14 days so far have been wasted.
The Rajya Sabha has been witnessing repeated disruptions ever since it met for the Monsoon session on July 20.
18 leaders from 14 parties said it is unfortunate that the government has 'unleashed a misleading campaign to malign the combined opposition' and blaming it for the continued disruption of Parliament proceedings.
An end to the ongoing logjam in Parliament on the issue of Foreign Direct Investment in retail on Wednesday appeared in sight, with the government giving enough hints that it has no problem over a vote on the issue. In an effort to break the impasse, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, along with his deputy Rajiv Shukla, held a meeting with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley.
The government and opposition parties on Monday reached an agreement to break the impasse in Parliament with dates announced for discussions on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The 2G spectrum scam may have caused a colossal loss to the national exchequer, but the standoff between the government and opposition over it has resulted in the further wastage of over Rs 146 crore as the entire Winter Session of the Parliament was virtually washed out.
Despite the monsoon session of Parliament being a near washout so far, the government hopes to resolve the impasse at an all-party meeting on Monday to pave the way for discussion on issues raised by the Opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said.
As yet another day of Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned due to vociferous protests, Joshi, the Union parliamentary affairs minister, urged the protesting members to allow the House to function while speaking during the Question Hour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Congress for "misusing" Parliament to stop the country's growth and hailed Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for "understanding this conspiracy" and working to end the logjam in the House.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned barely six minutes after the House met.
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The speaker said she was ready to start the debate right away if the House agreed. The debate has been listed in Monday's list of business under Rule 193.
While the Congress will go on fast on April 9, BJP MPs will go on a day-long fast on April 9.
Several MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, TMC, RJD and Left parties, carried out a protest march with the banner 'SIR- Loktantra par Var'.
Amid disruptions in the Lok Sabha, opposition parties are protesting the denial of speaking rights to the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, during discussions on the President's address. The Congress party draws parallels to a similar incident in 2004 when then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was prevented from speaking.
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday greeted their Bharatiya Janata Party counterparts in Parliament premises with the tricolour in one hand and a red rose in the other, as they urged the ruling party to ensure that the House functions and all issues, including the Adani matter, is discussed.
Pending last minute disturbances or any other untoward development, the government and opposition have reached a compromise by which Parliament will function on Thursday.
Catch all the action from the Monsoon session of Parliament, LIVE
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the opposition on Monday to allow a debate on the Manipur issue to begin in Parliament but the deadlock persisted in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as both sides refused to budge from their stand, with Congress and its allies insisting on a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi first.
The Lok Sabha will debate the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram' and electoral reforms after an all-party agreement, potentially breaking the logjam over discussions on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
INDIA bloc MPs protest against the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar, alleging irregularities and disenfranchisement of voters.
Parliament proceedings were adjourned for the day on Monday following protests by the opposition which has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House on the Manipur issue. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition kept insisting on a discussion under Rule 267 of the House.
Parliament failed to transact any business for the fourth day on Tuesday despite the government's efforts to break the logjam over the issue of Foreign Direct Investment in retail through an all-party meeting.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of failing to uphold the 'one man, one vote' principle, citing irregularities in voter lists. He claims the issue is widespread and systematic, with the opposition protesting the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday called on President Droupadi Murmu separately within hours at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The over half-an-hour meeting between the opposition parties and the government, however, remained inconclusive.
