Govt ready for structured debates in Winter Session: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi

New Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said that the Centre is willing to hold structured debates on all issues and requested the Opposition to abide by all the rules and regulations for the same.

An all-party meeting was held two days prior to the Winter Session of Parliament which gets underway on December 4. It was held under the Chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

In his opening address Joshi said that the Winter Session of Parliament will commence on Monday and subject to exigencies of government business, the session may conclude on Friday, December 22.

Joshi also informed that tentatively 19 items of Legislative Business and two items of Financial Business had been identified for being taken up during this session.

The Union Minister further stated that the Government was always ready to discuss on the floor of the House, any issue as permitted under Rules of Procedure by respective Presiding Officers. He also requested active cooperation and support from all party leaders for the smooth functioning of the two Houses of Parliament.

Concluding the meeting, after listening to the points raised by the leaders of various political parties in both Houses of Parliament, Singh thanked them for raising important issues in the meeting and stated that the Government was ready for discussions on all these issues as per the rules of the respective Houses of Parliament and with the permission of the Presiding Officers concerned.

Later, he interacted with the media at the Parliament's Library Building, the venue of the meeting. "We had called an all-party meeting today which was attended by 23 parties and 30 leaders," Joshi said. During the meeting, several suggestions were received. The Minister said that ‘zero hour’ has been happening regularly. Discussion on short duration took place, he said.

"We requested that the atmosphere should be maintained for structured debates. The discussions should be held following rules and procedures. The Government is ready to hold discussions on all the issues. The Government is ready for a structured debate," Joshi added.

He said that last time they (Opposition parties) had demanded a discussion on Manipur, which was held as per rules. "I once again urge that this is the last session of the 17th Lok Sabha. Our government is fully ready for structured debate and we want the House to function and run smoothly," he said.