Mahajan meets leaders to break Lok Sabha deadlock

Upset with the continuous uproar in the Lok Sabha and behaviour of some of the members during proceedings, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday met the floor leaders of various parties and expressed her anguish.

Sources said Mahajan tried to break the logjam between the government and the opposition on different issues including Rafale, but her attempts went in vain as none of the opposition leaders assured her of smooth functioning of the House.

They also said that during the meeting, the Speaker took serious exception to the display of placards by the members in the House.

As there was no assurance from the leaders on her concerns, she has convened a meeting of the Rules committee of Lok Sabha.

One of the leaders present in the meeting said the Speaker was worried about the deteriorating level of conduct of members in the House especially during protests.

She said continued noisy scenes in the House are projecting an image that the Lok Sabha was only meant for disruption.

She said disruptions will not serve any purpose as no one can raise the issues of public importance.

The meeting was attended among others by Mallikarjun Kharge of Congress, Bhartruhari Mahatab of Biju Janata Dal, Sudip Bandopadhyaya of TMCA and Mohammed Salim of the CPI(M).

During the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was also present.

The Congress has been protesting in the Lok Sabha demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 36 ready-to-fly Rafale fighter jet deal with France while accusing the government of lying before the Supreme Court on the matter.

The AIADMK members have been protesting against construction of a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekadatu, while the TDP has been raising several issues related to their demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh.

During their protests, the members hold placards and try to cover the Speaker's or other members' face when they speak.

As the members didn't relent despite her requests, Mahajan on Tuesday remarked, "It is not sending a good message outside. I have heard from people from abroad asking what is happening in the Indian Parliament."

She said she has received feedback even school children behave much better than parliamentarians.-IANS