Winter Session: Opposition firm on JPC on Rafale

New Delhi: On the eve of what promises to be an eventful and action-packed Winter Session of Parliament during which the Opposition parties led by the Congress will try and corner the NDA government by seeking a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale jet deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said at an all-party meet that the government was ready to discuss all issues of national importance.

Asserting that the government is always receptive to issues raised by parties, Mr Modi said that the government and the Opposition have to cooperate with each other so that Parliament functions smoothly.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said his party will raise the issue of misuse of investigative agencies and the government’s tension with institutions like RBI during the session.

Mr Azad told reporters that the issue of alleged misuse of probe agencies by the government to settle political scores will also be raised. The Congress, the TDP and the TMC have alleged in the recent past that probe agencies, including the CBI and the ED, are being used by the government to settle political scores.

BJP’s ally the Shiv Sena said that it would not allow Parliament to function during the if the government does not bring a bill for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire told reporters, “The Shiv Sena has been demanding that the government bring a bill in Parliament for construction of Ram temple. If the government does not do so in the Winter Session our party would not allow Parliament to function,” Mr Khare said after the meeting. The Prime Minister’s meeting with leaders from all parties was convened by the newly-appointed parliamentary affairs minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

The proceedings of the two-hour-long meeting started with a two-minute homage to Ananth Kumar, Mr Tomar’s predecessor, who passed away last month.

Mr Tomar said that the government will bring supplementary demands for grants in the session through which it will seek Parliament nod for more expenditure. He said that all parties were in favour of a productive session and the government is always ready to discuss any issue as permitted under rules. During the meeting, the Congress, along with Aam Admi Party (AAP), raised the issue of sanctity of electronic voting machines (EVMs), said sources privy to the developments.

After the meeting, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “I demanded paper ballots for the coming elections as there are reports about EVMs being found at highways and political leader’s premises.”

NDA ally Shiv Sena also pitched for a law on construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya during the meeting, attended by floor leaders of various political parties from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.