Eleven days into repeated adjournments in Rajya Sabha, there seems to be a glimmer of hope in running of the Upper House, with the Opposition sending a proposal to the government on how the discussion on Manipur can be taken forward.
Sources say the government has been suggested rule 167, which means that a discussion can be held followed by a motion being adopted on matters of importance. In this case, the suggestion is that at the end of the discussion — with no binding of one-and-a-half hours as short duration discussion usually entails — there would be a resolution of motion which would be adopted by the entire House, expressing concern over the situation in Manipur.
This suits both. For the government, it would help to assuage those who feel the government is running away from a discussion on Manipur. For the Opposition, there are many reasons why this middle path was needed.
HOW DID THE COOKIE CRUMBLE
It all began when TMC’s Derek O’Brien suddenly got up in the House and said the Opposition was ready for a discussion. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal promptly agreed to this. A meeting was then held with the chairman at 1.15 pm. In private, the Opposition was relieved. In fact, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted to say that they had given a proposal to the government to break the logjam and get a discussion on Manipur going. “Hope Modi government agrees to this,” he added.
O’Brien, while speaking to News18, 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 government accepts it.”
There are two main reasons why the cookie needed to break for the Opposition. Part of the reason was reflected in Lok Sabha when, upon AAP’s insistence, opposition leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Sougata Roy insisted on speaking to stop tabling of the Delhi Services Bill.
In Rajya Sabha, two concerns were raised. One, while Manipur was important and the government needed to be cornered, they could not be allowed to freely pass all legislations — some of them important like the Delhi Bill and data protection Bill. It was important to record in Parliament archives the voice and protest of the Opposition.
Second, many in the Opposition — especially the Congress — felt that with do-or-die state elections coming up, it was important to raise issues such as rising tomato prices which resonate with the people. A senior Rajya Sabha MP said: “Manipur is important but it may not click with all our voters. We need to talk about other issues.”
This suits the government and Opposition both. They Opposition wants immediate beginning of discussion. The government, however, has said Home Minister Amit Shah is busy with bills and in view of the upcoming no-confidence motion, the discussion can happen post August 10 — a demand unacceptable to the Opposition. For now, it’s a cookie which both sides can happily chew on.
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