‘Centre remains smug’: 14 Opposition parties issue joint statement on Parliament deadlock
As many as fourteen Opposition parties have issued a joint statement and have demanded a dialogue on the Pegasus issue within the Parliament adopted by a reply from the house minister and have squarely held the Centre for the ‘ongoing deadlock.’
Claiming that the matter has ‘nationwide safety dimensions,’ the statement stated, “It is unfortunate that the government has unleashed a misleading campaign to malign the combined opposition and blaming it for the continued disruption in the Parliament. The responsibility for the deadlock lies squarely at the doorsteps of the government, which remains arrogant and obdurate and refuses to accept the opposition’s demand for an informed debate in both the houses.”
The statement was issued collectively by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK’s T R Balu and Tiruchi Siva, Congress’ Anand Sharma, Samajwadi Party’s Ramgopal Yadav, Derek O’ Brien and Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, and Sanjay Raut and Vinayak Raut of the Shiv Sena amongst others learn, “The Opposition has also unequivocally conveyed that the discussion on the farmers’ issues and agitations arising from the three anti-farmers and black agri-laws should follow the discussions on Pegasus.”
Interestingly, the statement was additionally signed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which is a part of the NDA-led Central authorities.
The statement comes after a stalemate in Monsson Session of Parliament with each the Houses paralysed by the opposition’s uproar over their demand for a dialogue on the Pegasus snooping issue and farmers’ protests.
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