New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress on Sunday told the government that it wanted the Parliament to run but it must "reciprocate" by allowing the discussion on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
At an all-party meeting here attended by party's Leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee, a demand for discussion on SIR was raised by the Opposition.
"We are ready to cooperate in running the House provided treasury benches also cooperate with the Opposition. We want more time allocated to the Opposition during the Parliament session," Banerjee told reporters after the meeting.
"We made a very legitimate demand - SIR... So many things are discussed why would SIR not be discussed," Banerjee said.
"Forty persons have expired, 7-8 persons attempted to commute suicide. This is a serious issue," he said.
The Congress, SP, RJD, DMK, NCP (SP) and AAP also demanded that the SIR be discussed in the Winter Session.
The TMC said the Opposition should get more time to speak on the floor of the House, claiming it was reduced to only around 25 per cent of the total time in previous sessions.
It also pointed out that the number of notices for short duration or calling attention motions have come down over the years.
"TMC told the government we have to scrutinise the bills. It needs to stop rushing bills," a party source said.
Besides SIR, opposition parties demanded a discussion on national security.
The meeting came ahead of the Winter Session beginning December 1.
The government said it would engage with everyone to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.
As many as 50 leaders of 36 political parties attended the meeting convened by the government.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, and his two deputies Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan, attended the meeting.
The Winter session commences on Monday and will conclude on December 19.