Govt holds parleys with Oppn to avoid RS vote

New Delhi: In a bid to avoid a major embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha, the Narendra Modi government has begun parleys with the Opposition parties to not press for a vote on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.

The government had been put on the mat in both 2015 and 2016 when it was forced to amend the President’s address. Treasury bench strategists and the government’s floor managers have already reached out to key leaders in the Congress, Trinamul Congress and Left parties.

The desperation to get a majority in the Upper House was also evident when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in Aligarh, said the Opposition had joined hands in Uttar Pradesh not merely to defeat the BJP in the elections but also to stall the BJP’s efforts to secure a majority in the Rajya Sabha.

The Opposition parties have jointly moved well over a thousand amendments in both Houses on the President’s address. While in the Lok Sabha 415 amendments have been moved, in the Rajya Sabha 651 amendments were moved, out of which 19 are on demonetisation alone.

The government is concerned as it remains in a minority in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP-led NDA has 74 seats in the Rajya Sabha, while the Congress and other anti-BJP parties have a total 125 seats. The maximum number of amendments to the President’s address have been moved by Congress and Trinamul Congress MPs.

With the Assembly elections on, the government could escape facing embarrassment as the Trinamul Congress, with 11 Rajya Sabha MPs, might press for amendments but “not push for voting”.

Government sources said there were indications that some other Opposition parties, including the RJD that has three MPs in the Rajya Sabha, may also “not push for voting”. The other advantage for the government may be that MPs of both Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are busy campaigning in Uttar Pradesh. While the BSP has six Rajya Sabha MPs, the SP has 19.

The Congress has also not come out clearly on pushing for a vote as most of its MPs are also busy campaigning. Congress sources said party president Sonia Gandhi has asked her MPs not to disrupt Parliament “unnecessarily” and “use the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address to register their strong protest against the demonetisation drive as well as other policies”.

The government is, however, not taking any chances and is in touch with other parties to avert a vote in the Upper House. The Opposition parties are waiting for the second half of the Budget Session when they will be able to take on the government with full force as Assembly polls will be over by then. The first half of the Budget Session will end on February 9, while Parliament will reconvene on March 9 for the second half.

With all its MPs back in Parliament, the Congress will be in a “better position” to take on the government in the Rajya Sabha, a party leader pointed out.