Price rise: House set for fireworks

There was a large measure of unity among Opposition parties when Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar met with floor leaders of all groups on Sunday to get a sense of their priorities ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament....

There was a large measure of unity among Opposition parties when Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar met with floor leaders of all groups on Sunday to get a sense of their priorities ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament,scheduled to begin Monday.

The twin issues of saffron terror and the arrest of former Gujarat minister Amit Shah took a back seat as leaders of all Opposition parties,from Basudeb Acharia (CPM) and Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) to Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party),supported Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj when she told Kumar that they were ready to co-operate with her to ensure a smooth conduct of session if she granted them a discussion on price rise by admitting an adjournment motion.

The Speaker was non-committal,but Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal cited rules to contend that the Opposition demand did not match the conditions laid for admitting an adjournment motion.

The top BJP leadership later met at L K Advanis residence where it was decided that the party would move an adjournment motion on price rise in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. A similar motion would also be moved in Rajya Sabha which would entail voting,senior BJP leader S S Ahluwalia told The Indian Express.

The Opposition wants to use the device to censure the government for its failure to control prices and the government is equally keen on avoiding this for precisely the same reason. Bansal pointed out that the issue had to be of recent occurrence to be taken up up the way the Opposition wanted,whereas price rise was a continuing phenomenon. Since neither side seemed convinced of each others argument,the stage for a showdown on Tuesday morning has been set,which would mean a replay of the beginning of the last session when the Opposition stalled proceedings to press the same demand.

The question,however,is what option the Speaker would have after having rejected it with a detailed ruling earlier. It is possible that Kumar,in order to mollify the Opposition,may this time round permit the Opposition leaders to speak on why their demand for an adjournment motion be accepted. Though it is likely to be followed by a rejection,the gesture may enable Opposition leaders to let off some steam.

While Acharia,Dasgupta and Mulayam told the media later that price rise was the foremost issue for them,two UPA partners,DMK and Trinamool Congress,also sided with the Opposition over inflation at the all-party meeting. They did not get into the technicality of the format of discussion,but they did say that it must be discussed.

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In the public too,Swaraj offered conditional peace to the government,saying,If they accept the adjournment motion demand,I want to assure them that we would extend full co-operation for running the House. Thereafter,she listed several issues on which the Opposition was united. They included relief and rehabilitation of Bhopal gas case victims,India-Pakistan talks fiasco,situation in J&K,blockade of highways connecting Manipur with other parties of the country,Rangnath Mishra report,matters related to Commonwealth Games and law and order in Delhi.

Swaraj said the Opposition had identified some 40 matters,which would be taken up in different formats. She said all Opposition parties were suffering due to a misuse of the CBI and they would raise this issue too.