The plan to end the logjam in the Parliament began with a propostion of a 'middle-path' by opposition parties who agreed to mutually negotiate for a discussion on Manipur under Rule 167, as opposed to Rule 276 that pressed for complete suspension of all business of parliament until the motion is discussed. However, the plan soon failed after the Centre suggested that discussion can only take place on the last day of the Parliament on August 11.
Rule 167 involves a discussion, a response from the minister and voting, which culminates in a resolution. The time limit is fixed by the Chairman.
"We said let us have a mutually negotiated Motion on Manipur under Rule 167 and start a discussion on it. Modi government appeared to agree but indicated that the earliest that the discussion could take place was only on Friday, Aug 11th. This shows the government is not serious," Congress General Secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter. They instead demanded for an immediate discussion today (August 4) or on Monday or Tuesday.
"We are very serious about the middle path, finding a solution, but clearly the Modi government is not. So much for our sincere efforts," Ramesh further said in his tweet.
Parliament logjam over Manipur
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament has been witnessing repeated disruptions over the opposition's relentless demand for a discussion on Manipur and a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi on Thursday reached out to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other opposition leaders to break the logjam in Rajya Sabha.
The opposition has been insisting on a full-fledged discussion on the Manipur issue in Rajya Sabha under Rule 267, which allows for suspension of the listed business for the day to discuss an issue, and also demanded a statement on it from the PM. The government, however, has agreed to hold a short-duration discussion under Rule 176 of Rajya Sabha.
