Reached out on delimitation several times: Kiren Rijiju to Mallikarjun Kharge

New Delhi: Amid the buzz that the Centre is planning to convene a special Parliament sitting on the delimitation bill, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday responded to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's October 16 letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In his letter, Kharge had demanded an all-party meeting prior to Parliament taking up the proposed Constitution amendment bill.

"The government has consistently sought the Opposition's support for the consideration and passage of the delimitation amendment bill. The government has reached out to the principal opposition party, Congress, on several occasions," Rijiju wrote in the letter.


Rijiju stated that he wrote three letters to Congress this year on March 16, March 26 and April 12. Rijiju added that he also met Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to seek their cooperation and support for the bill.

"After repeated requests, Congress party didn't give dates for discussion... The government outreach extended to other political parties and consultations were held with DMK, SP, YSRCP, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM and BJD, with a view to facilitating dialogue and building a broader consensus in support of the proposed legislation. In these circumstances, it is not clear why the demand for consultation is being made repeatedly... What is now required is constructive cooperation from the Opposition parties rather than a repetition of the same demand without due regard to the consultations already undertaken," read the letter.