At the very first all-party meeting of the 18th Lok Sabha held on July 21, ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, both allies and rivals came up with a long wish list for the Narendra Modi Government.
The Opposition demanded a discussion on the Uttar Pradesh Government’s order to display nameplates at eateries falling on the Kanwar Yatra route, the rising number of terror cases in Jammu, internal strife in Manipur and irregularities in NEET and other competitive exams. While the allies, TDP, JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas) demanded financial aid for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
In a break from the past, the BJP extended invitations to smaller parties, including many with just one member. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said a total of 44 parties were represented and 55 leaders, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meeting, spoke. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, while urging cooperation from the Opposition, emphasised that it is a “collective responsibility” of both the government and the Opposition to run the Parliament smoothly.
The Trinamool Congress skipped the meeting but had informed Mr. Rijiju that all its members are committed to be in the State for Martyr’s Day that the TMC observes on July 21. Among the allies, Apna Dal (Soneylal) leader Anupriya Patel and RPI’s Ramdas Athawale, though present, did not speak at the meeting.
Nearly all Opposition parties strongly raised the issue of the Uttar Pradesh Government’s order asking roadside eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of owners. There was a unanimous demand from the Opposition to revoke the order. None of the NDA allies flagged the issue, though the JD(U), the LJP (Ram Vilas) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal have spoken out against the Uttar Pradesh Government’s order outside the Parliament. At the end of the meeting, JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha said his party did not believe in segregation of society on religious or caste lines and urged the Uttar Pradesh Government to revisit the orders.
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“The Uttar Pradesh Government’s decision is unconstitutional; it is a way to torture the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh. We oppose this and the entire Opposition is with us.” AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi called the order a violation of Article 17 which abolished “untouchability.”
Internal security issues
The Left parties, at the end of the meeting, claimed that the Congress’s response was muted on the issue of “name plate order”, though, Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, speaking to The Hindu,rubbished this claim. “Speaking for the party, I raised the issue of internal security issues in Jammu and Manipur. I also spoke about the tension within our society created by divisive comments raised by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and orders by the Uttar Pradesh Government on Kanwar Yatra.” The stand of the Congress in fighting for the Constitution leaves no space for doubt on the party’s position on these issues, Mr. Gogoi insisted. He also raised the issue of irregularities in conducting NEET and NET, railway safety, Agniveer. He also flagged the internal security situation in Jammu and Manipur and the prolonged Indo-China conflict.
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva slammed the government for its handling of the medical entrance examination NEET and pressed for a discussion on the issue. The entire Opposition rallied together on the issue, demanding a detailed statement from the government on the irregularities, during the session.
The Opposition, both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, demanded that the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha that lay vacant in the whole of the 17th Lok Sabha’s tenure should be filled at the earliest. “It is a constitutional position, which the government in its arrogance kept vacant for the last five years. And conventionally it goes to the Opposition parties,” Congress’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha Kodikunnil Suresh said.
While the all-party meeting proceeded without much drama, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s post on X in the middle of the meeting set the stage for confrontation between Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party TDP and their rivals YSRCP. “In today’s all-party meeting of floor leaders chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the JD(U) leader demanded special category status for Bihar. The YSRCP leader demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Strangely, the TDP leader kept quiet on the matter.” His remarks forced both the TDP and the YSR Congress Party to speak on the issue.
Live updates
Continuing to post live updates from the meeting, Mr. Ramesh also wrote, “How the political climate has changed! In the all-party meeting of floor leaders, the BJD leader reminded the Defence Minister and BJP President J.P. Nadda that the BJP’s manifesto for the 2014 Assembly elections in Odisha had promised special category status to the State.” BJD leader Sasmit Patra said his party was “independent” of both the ruling and the opposition alliance. The BJD, he said, would extend “issue-based support” based on the merit of the legislation.
There was also a demand from various parties for a central hall in the new Parliament, with several members lamenting that there is no place for the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members to meet and mingle.
CPI(M) leader John Brittas said the government must respect the message of 2024. “The message is clearly for deliberations and discussions on all issues. And since the government has majority, they should not shy away from debate,” Mr. Brittas said. CPI leader Sandosh Kumar also demanded a “thorough enquiry” on the developments in Chhattisgarh where “innocent tribals”, he said, are being killed in “fake encounters” branding them as “Naxalites”.
