Today’s parleys were the first-ever meeting of political parties convened by PM Modi ahead of a Parliament session.
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“We feel that the Congress party will not allow Parliament to function”. A Congress delegation met President Pranab Mukherjee this evening requesting him not to withdraw the proclamation of central rule in the state.
Indian opposition leaders raised concerns on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over widening protests on university campuses, as the heated political atmosphere again threatened to stall reforms in parliament.
Naidu said the representatives of opposition parties present at the meeting also raised the issues concerning Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad University.
Modi expressed the hope that parliament will function smoothly with the cooperation of the opposition parties. The GST bill is stuck in the Rajya Sabha where the government does not have a majority. “His arrest on sedition charge is unfair…” D Raja of CPI is believed to have said that the situation in the country is “scary” and the government should take action, the sources said.
“If people holding the constitutional positions are vitiating the atmosphere in the country, then it will find a reflection in Parliament. We are clear that we do not support any such thing”. With regard to the JNU issue, Congress and Left parties were together in objecting to the government action which was defended by finance minister Arun Jaitley, who said there is a difference between “free speech and hate speech”.
The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a petition by a JNU alumnus seeking safe and conducive atmosphere in the Patiala House court complex in the wake of Monday’s incident. He, however, stressed that anti India slogans are unacceptable.
The Opposition parties voiced their concern over the attempts to curtail the autonomy of the varsity and urged the government to protect the autonomy of all educational institutions in the country.
“Frustration is rising among people due to stalemate in Parliament… Issues are not being debated”, he said. The meeting also saw Trinamool Congress pushing for the passage of the GST bill, Naidu said.
Government sources maintained that it is not an all-party meeting and the bills the government seeks to introduce or pass in the session will not be discussed.
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An all-party has been called on February 22 in which bills likely to be tabled in the session and other related issues will be discussed.
