Government ready for discussion on any issue: Pralhad Joshi

NEW DELHI: The likely expulsion of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha dominated the all-party meeting called by the government on Saturday with the opposition parties demanding a discussion on it.

The three bills to replace criminal laws also came up for discussion at the all-party meeting convened by the government.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh presided over a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in Parliament, which was attended by parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Gaurav Gogoi and Pramod Tewari, Trinamool leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O'Brien and NCP leader Fouzia Khan, among others.


The session which is starting a day after the results of the assembly elections in four states -- Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana - will have a bearing on the outcome of assembly polls.

The report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommending the expulsion of Moitra from Lower House over a "cash-for-query" complaint is also listed for tabling in the House on Monday, the first day of the session.

At the all-party meeting, TMC leaders demanded a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the Ethics Committee report, before any decision is taken to expel Moitra.

Tewari said the opposition insisted on a discussion in Parliament on issues such as the situation in Manipur, rising inflation, "misuse" of the Enforcement Directorate and CBI, the "imposition" of Hindi through names of laws, particularly in reference to the three bills to replace criminal laws. "We are ready for a discussion on any issue. But when you seek a short-duration discussion, you also have to ensure an atmosphere conducive for a debate in the House," Joshi told reporters.

Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale said the House should discuss the issue of reservation for the Maratha and Dhangar communities, which were a subject of a hot debate in Maharashtra.

Revolutionary Socialist Party member N K Premachandran and AIADMK member M Thambi Durai opposed the "imposition" of Hindi by naming criminal laws as Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which are set to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure, respectively.