New Delhi: After both the Houses of
Parliament were adjourned for the day after an uproar on the
issue of price rise, Congress on Tuesday said the government has never
run away from discussion nor will it ever do.
"Government has never run away from discussion, nor
will it ever do it... UPA government has been very sensitive on
the issue of price rise and has taken constructive steps to
mitigate the woes of the people following the drought," party
spokesman Manish Tewari said.
Asked about the Opposition demand for discussion under
Rules 167 which entails voting, he said Parliament runs under
well established rules and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister
has already made clear that what the Opposition wants is not
permissible under the rules.
Accusing the opposition of politicising the price rise
issue, Tewari asked how many Opposition MPs were present in
the House in the last session when a discussion was taking
place on price rise and when Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar
was giving his reply.
"They (Opposition) are trying to complicate the
matters. The Motion of Thanks on President`s address entails
voting. The Budget also entails voting after discussion on the
micro-economic situation of the country," he said, criticising
the Opposition for demanding voting on the price rise issue.
Tewari said, "The rules are time-tested. All the
government is saying is to bring the motion in the prescribed
rules and it will accept them."
Meanwhile, the party reacted cautiously to the
ceasefire offer made by Naxals.
"The Naxals have given a proposal. This has to be
verified, examined and analysed by the appropriate authority.
When the government comes to a determination, a political
party can react after that," Tewari said.
PTI
