NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday hit out at the opposition, saying it was making issues out of non-issues and trying to belittle the image of Parliament.
Addressing reporters after the all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament which was attended by leaders of various parties, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also said that the government was open for discussion on all issues under rules and procedures of Parliament.
Condemning the opposition for creating a row over unparliamentary words and circulars issued in routine for the past several years, he said such a practice is being carried on since 1954 when the first such list was brought out, and said the opposition was doing so as it was devoid of any issues against the government.
Joshi claimed the government was "doing good work" and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was recognised not just by people within India but also those abroad.
"The opposition is trying to make issues out of non-issues as they do not have anything against the Government," Joshi told reporters after the all-party meet.
"The Opposition is trying to belittle the image of Parliament," he said on the row over unparliamentary words.
"No word has been barred from use in Parliament and the Lok Sabha Secretariat has been bringing out such a list of unparliamentary words since 1954," Joshi also said.
On the opposition criticism over the absence of prime minister from the all-party meeting, the minister said, "The prime minister never attended all-party meetings before 2014 when Congress was in power".
He also stated that the government would hold an all-party meeting on the Sri Lanka situation on Tuesday which will be chaired by Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar.