Naidu steps in to end Rajya Sabha logjam

New Delhi: The Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu once again on Tuesday initiated efforts to end the logjam in Parliament and end the face-off between the government and the Congress over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh during the Gujarat polls.

On Tuesday, he had called a meeting of the main opposition party, Congress, where the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress deputy leader in the House Anand Sharma and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel could not reach at a conclusion since the Congress stuck to its demand that not less than PM should clarify his statement in Parliament.

After a long break and the Christmas holiday, both the houses will resume from Wednesday. But the mood in the Congress party is not to allow the house to function. In Lok Sabha treasury bench has a comfortable majority. The Lok Sabha might function after a brief protest by the Congress party. Interestngly in this issue Congress party is seen alone in both the houses.

Impoprtant opposition party of the Parliament-TMC feels the house should function properly. As it seems on Tuesday opposition ranks are not united and not fully behind the Congress party Chairman of the Rajyasabha has planned to call a meeting of the all opposition leaders in the morning ro resolve the impasse of the Rajyasabha particularly.

On Tuesday, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan met the Chairman in the afternoon. But the sources pointed out that the meeting had no significance so far logjam of the house is concerned. Actually, on December 28, the Speaker will inaugurate the new calendar of the Lok Sabha in a function where she wanted to invite Vice-President for that.

The crucial meeting to end the stalemate took place in Naidu's chamber. While nothing could be resolved, Naidu reportedly asked Leader of the House Arun Jaitley and Leader of Opposition to continue with the negotiations to end the stalemate. Naidu has in the House said there was no question of an apology by anybody as the subject of confrontation was an event that happened outside the House.