Government, Opposition clinch deal on price rise debate

The government and the Opposition on Wednesday arrived at an understanding in Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar’s chamber, clearing the way for a daylong debate on price rise in the House on Thursday.

The Speaker’s ruling, rejecting the Opposition-sponsored adjournment motion on the issue while showing an accommodative spirit, led to the agreement.

The government agreed to suspend the question hour, as demanded by the Opposition, to give the discussion a sense of urgency, though it would be discussed as a short-duration discussion under Rule 193 of the rules of procedure.

Even while rejecting the adjournment motion, the Speaker made the point that the issue ought to be discussed. The Chair was equally concerned about the burning issue of price rise.

She said that though even under Rule 193, the subject might not be discussed as it was dealt with in the last session, since the rule was “flexible” and “amenable to a liberal interpretation,” she could consider it.

At the meeting in her chamber, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj agreed to have the debate under Rule 193, a proposition that was rejected by the Opposition on Tuesday.

“Important issue”

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s point was that it had conveyed the political message that the issue was all important, and not holding a discussion would create an impression that the Opposition did not want a debate.

And with the issue sorted out in the Lok Sabha, the expectation is that in the Rajya Sabha too, there would be a short-duration discussion, as agreed upon on day one of the Budget session, sources in the Parliament Secretariat said.

Confusion

However, there was some confusion in the BJP ranks. For minutes before the agreement at the Speaker’s chamber, deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde told reporters that his party would insist on moving an adjournment motion on Thursday.

The government too was anxious to accommodate the Opposition in the interest of a smooth budget session. Thus the government had its way, in that the adjournment motion that would have ended with a vote and a possible censure was avoided, and the Opposition would have its say on price rise.