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PM confident Parliament will function smoothly, opposition says conditions apply

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Former ally TDP and the CPI say the responsibility to ensure smooth running lies with the government, and they will continue to raise their issues.

New Delhi: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar exuded confidence that Parliament will function smoothly in the monsoon session beginning Wednesday, opposition parties have reiterated that things will not be “smooth” if the issues they raise are not addressed.

Speaking to ThePrint, Telugu Desam Party Rajya Sabha MP and former union minister Y.S. Chowdary said the onus of ‘smooth running’ lies with the government and not with the opposition.

“We have one demand — of special status to Andhra Pradesh. And we have told them that we will raise it. They told us that we should not indulge in protests and let Parliament function. But we said that protests are allowed under parliamentary functioning,” said Chowdary, whose party left the NDA fold in March on this issue.

“We will continue to protest if they do not address the issue of Andhra Pradesh.”

D. Raja, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, said he communicated to the PM that there are a wide range of issues from lynching to Dalit atrocities that the government needs to address.

“We told the government it should accommodate and allow issues to be raised. If you don’t allow or give space to the opposition, what is the point of democracy? It is our right to raise issues. The PM has taken note of the concerns and given us assurances.”

Sources present at the meeting said the Congress wasn’t very active, and was just echoing what other parties were saying. “They were relying on other parties and raising the issues the others raised,” a senior leader from another party said.

Government statement

A government statement on the all-party meet quoted PM Modi as saying that the government gives huge importance to the issues raised by all political parties. Modi also urged all parties to collectively strive to create a constructive atmosphere in the monsoon session, to achieve “national good”.

“A host of issues were brought up by the leaders of parties during the meeting. There was a consensus across party lines on ensuring smooth functioning of Parliament without disruptions and deadlocks to be resolved through constructive discussions in both the Houses,” the government stated.

What did BJP’s allies say?

A senior leader present at the meeting said the BJP’s allies were not very vocal on issues they would want to raise.

“Though the allies did raise their respective issues, they didn’t come out very strongly. To address their core vote banks, they would need to put some pressure on government,” the leader said.

Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan was an exception, as he raised the issue of bringing in legislation to prevent atrocities against Dalits, as well as enacting amendments to ensure reservations in promotions.

On behalf of the BJP, home minister Rajnath Singh attended the meeting, as did ministers of state like Vijay Goel and Arjun Ram Meghwal.

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