Rajya Sabha logjam ends; Government, Opposition reach compromise

NEW DELHI: The impasse in Rajya Sabha over the controversial remarks of Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti ended on Monday after the opposition and the government reached a consensus on a statement read out by Chairman Hamid Ansari in the House, appealing to all MPs, ministers and leaders to "maintain civility at all costs in public discourse".

The government and the opposition parties worked behind the scenes over the weekend to end the deadlock, sources said. A senior Congress MP from Rajya Sabha met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and discussed a way out.

While the opposition was insisting since Friday that a resolution be passed by the House condemning use of "derogatory" words by the minister, the government said this was not acceptable as the PM had already and disapproved Jyoti’s comments in Parliament.

The Opposition had then suggested that the PM’s words be used in the resolution, but the government stonewalled it with Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu saying the resolution should name all prominent legislators who had used unparliamentary language since 1952. Sources said finally both sides agreed that the chair read out a statement, drafted in consultation with the government and the opposition, and then the House would close the issue.

After a couple of short adjournments on Monday soon after the Rajya Sabha met for the day, Ansari read out a statement which said: "This House, while acknowledging the statement of prime minister, made in this House on 4th of December, appeals to all members of Parliament, ministers and leaders of all political parties to maintain civility at all costs in public discourse for the successful functioning of parliamentary democracy and to uphold our commitment to constitutional values." The House was back to normal and continued with the Question Hour.