NEW DELHI: The government on Monday went in a huddle, with the Opposition hardening stance over their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus snooping issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held consultations with senior colleagues to find a way to break the Parliament logjam.
Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh, leader of Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah and the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi attended the meeting with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is learnt to have asked the ministers to initiate outreach with the Opposition parties, besides consultations with the presiding officers of the two Houses, to find ways to restore normalcy in Parliament proceedings.
Some of the senior ministers later called on the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, while Goyal invited Opposition leaders to tea in the evening. While the government remains firm not to yield to the conditions reportedly set by the Opposition parties for taking up discussions on the Pegasus snooping issue, in the presence of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs and a reply by either of them, the NDA is seeking to impress upon the Opposition leaders to stick to conventions.
The government, on the other hand, also appears determined to push the legislative business in the two Houses of Parliament even if the chaos continues and Opposition parties don’t show flexibility in their stand, said a senior BJP functionary.
The government appears ready to allow the Opposition parties to hold short discussions on three issues of their choice, namely the Pegasus snooping controversy, protests by the farmers and price rise, besides also agreeing for three calling attention in a tradeoff for the official business carried out in the House.