Govt voices hope Parliament will be allowed to debate issues

Gadkari blames Rahul Gandhi, congress for solely causing the logjam

Ahead of an all-party meeting convened by it to break the Parliament logjam, government today voiced hope that Congress will allow discussion and debate in the House as wished by other parties.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs, said the government is always ready for talks and hoped that the Congress will cooperate to ensure that the Parliament goes ahead with its business.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the logjam in Parliament is causing a huge loss to the country.

"Congress' behaviour shows as if they have lost their trust in democracy," he said.

Gadkari claimed that every party wants to debate and discuss issues in Parliament except the Congress at the insistence of Rahul Gandhi.

"I request Congress party to cooperate rather than cause this logjam," he said.

"Today Sushma Swaraj has cleared everything. She did not recommend Lalit Modi's papers to UK government. Whatever she did was on humanitarian ground as his wife was unwell," he said speaking to reporters.

Gadkari attacked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for calling Swaraj a "criminal" and said he should know the difference between an accused and criminal.

"This is a very childish statement that he had made," Gadkari said.

Meanwhile, the Congress showed no signs of relenting with party chief Sonia Gandhi insisting that "no meaningful" proceedings were possible as long as those responsible for "gross wrong-doings" remain in office.

Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the party's demands have to be met for things to move forward.

"It is up to them. If they want to run the session smoothly, then they should agree to our demands," Kharge told reporters outside his house.

However, a senior TMC leader said the party is not in favour of "disruption" in Parliament and their stand always has been that debates should be held.

The Congress is demanding the ouster of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swa

 

raj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over allegations of helping former IPL chief Lalit Modi. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's resignation has also been sought in connection with the Vyapam recruitment scam and related deaths.

Hoping to end the deadlock in Parliament, the Narendra Modi government has called for an all-party meeting.