It was not clear why the demand for consultation was being made repeatedly, Rijiju said
NEW DELHI: Days after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called for an all-party meeting to discuss any fresh delimitation proposal, govt on Monday said it had already consulted many opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party, DMK and NCP (SP), and could not hold talks with Congress because of its own unwillingness, refuelling the buzz that Parliament may be called for a short duration to take up the legislation.In a sharp response to Kharge's Oct 16 letter to PM Narendra Modi, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said, "When after repeated requests Congress didn't give dates for discussion, govt's outreach extended to other political parties. Consultations were held with representatives of parties including SP, DMK, YSRCP, NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM and BJD with a view to building a broader consensus in support of the proposed legislation."In these circumstances, it was not clear why the demand for consultation was being made repeatedly, he added, rejecting Kharge's suggestion. Rijiju sought to give the impression of Congress's isolation over the issue by emphasising govt's consultations with other key members of the opposition in contrast to both Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, not giving him any date for discussion when he had met them during the last session.
Writing to Modi, Kharge had also questioned the "unprecedented" delay in proroguing the monsoon session, which was adjourned indefinitely on Aug 13. Dismissing his contention, Rijiju cited precedents and underlined that no constitutional requirement existed prescribing a specific period within which a House must be prorogued following its adjournment sine die."The mere fact that a House has not been prorogued does not, by itself, give rise to any constitutional or procedural impropriety or irregularity," Rijiju said. — Kumar Rakesh