New Delhi: In a bid to end the continuing deadlock in the Lok Sabha, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi
on Wednesday and discussed ways to break the impasse, sources said. According to Congress sources, Rijiju also discussed the proposed Delimitation Bill with Gandhi and sought to understand the Congress party's position on the issue. However, Gandhi made it clear that any breakthrough in Parliament would depend on the government's willingness to allow discussions on the Opposition's key demands. According to sources, Gandhi told Rijiju that the Opposition wanted discussions on the alleged police crackdown on NEET protesters and the alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The Congress leader also conveyed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should be present in Parliament during the discussions. Only then, Gandhi said, would any meaningful discussion in the House be possible. The meeting came after the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Wednesday amid continued protests by Opposition members over several issues, including the alleged police action against students. As soon as the House assembled, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appealed to members to return to their seats and allow Question Hour to function. "Sloganeering, whether inside or outside the House, is not good for democracy. By showing placards and sloganeering you are lowering the dignity of the House," Birla told Opposition members. Birla also said several MPs had approached him, saying their important questions were listed but could not be taken up because of repeated disruptions during the ongoing Monsoon Session. The Monsoon Session, which began on July 20, has witnessed repeated adjournments, with the Lok Sabha yet to complete a single Question Hour. Five Bills have been passed amid the din without discussion. Meanwhile, the BJP launched a sharp attack on the Congress leader, accusing him of deliberately disrupting Parliament and targeting the RSS without evidence. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that Gandhi is an "immature", "part-time" and "irresponsible" Leader of the Opposition and is preventing Parliament from functioning because he fears comparisons between the Modi government and the previous Congress-led UPA regime. "Rahul Gandhi is scared. He knows that the characterless Congress will be exposed when there will be comparison of an effective Modi government and the spineless Congress-led government from 2004 to 2014. Therefore, the obstruction," Bhatia claimed. Referring to Gandhi's recent remarks against the BJP and the RSS, Bhatia also alleged that the Congress leader suffers from "Modi phobia" and "RSS phobia" and has repeatedly described the Sangh's ideology as "poisonous" without any evidence. "Rahul Gandhi has Modi phobia and RSS phobia... Calling an ideology which has served the nation with utmost sincerity 'poisonous' is very easy, but to prove your point is difficult when you do not have any evidence," he said.
