Jairam Ramesh said that he is hopeful that the government will allow the functioning of both the Houses to resume from tomorrow

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary (Communications) and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said on Monday that he “hopes” the government will permit the operation of both chambers starting tomorrow, after the BJP-led union cabinet agreed to have a special two-day debate on the Constitution.

“Hopefully now the Modi government will allow both houses to function from tomorrow,” Jairam Ramesh said in his X post.

The administration claims that the opposition is abusing the House’s rules and preventing it from operating, while the opposition has been demanding different talks, causing both Houses of Parliament to be continuously adjourned without any significant business being passed.

The head of Congress emphasized that since November 26, Constitution Day, the opposition had been requesting a special debate on the Constitution. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, have submitted letters to the Speaker and Chairman, respectively, requesting a meeting.

“On November 26, the Speaker received a letter from the LOP Lok Sabha asking for a special two-day constitutional debate. On that day, the chairman had also received a similar letter from the LOP-Rajya Sabha,” Ramesh said in the tweet.

“Six days later, this request has been accepted by the Modi government, and the dates for the discussion have been announced as requested by the Indian National Congress and other INDIA parties,” said the post.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha Om Birla convened a meeting of political party floor leaders in his chambers earlier today in an attempt to end the impasse between the governing party and the opposition, as both Houses of Parliament had been repeatedly adjourned. Discussions on topics like Adani, Sambhal violence, and the Manipur crisis have been regularly urged by the opposition.

Following the meeting, Kiren Rijiju, the minister of parliamentary affairs, said, “Everyone has accepted that discussions will be held from tomorrow.”

The speaker, Om Birla, met with the floor leaders of all parties today. The Parliament has been in a standstill for a few days, and everyone is worried about it. We also said that all elected officials attend the Indian Parliament to voice their opinions, and it is not good that the Parliament has been operating (correctly) for a number of days. This was acknowledged by everybody,” he stated.

Additionally, he said that the administration has consented to a special constitutional debate, which would be held in the Lok Sabha on December 13–14 and in the Rajya Sabha on December 16–17.
According to Rijiju, the speaker of the Lok Sabha informed the group that there is a rule for anybody who wants to bring up a concern.

“You may send out a notice for it, but it’s not a good idea to cause a commotion in Parliament and interfere with its operations. This has been acknowledged by everybody. It’s fantastic that everyone has agreed that tomorrow will be the start of the conversations. Following talks in the Lok Sabha, the first bill will be passed tomorrow. The Rajya Sabha will also approve listed businesses. I urge all opposition MPs and leaders once again to make sure that the Parliament runs smoothly as a result of the agreements reached today,” he added.

Congressman Gaurav Gogoi, TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, DMK’s TR Baalu, NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule, Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, Janata Dal-United member Dileshwar Kamait, RJD’s Abhay Kushwaha, TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant, and CPI(M) leader K Radhakrishnan were among those who attended the floor leaders’ meeting.