Cong wants tangible proposal from PM before any meeting

In a blunt message to the government, Congress on Friday said its participation in an all-party meeting to break the two-week long deadlock in Parliament depended on a "tangible" proposal from the Prime Minister on opposition demands. "We are not interested in mere photo-op, tea and sandwiches. The PM must first tell us what action is being taken on our demands," party's senior spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters.

His response came as government attempted to reach out to Opposition which has been disrupting proceedings in Parliament demanding resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje over Lalitgate and Vyapam controversies.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sharma said Parliament is not functioning because of his "arrogance and obduracy" as he has refused to end his "maun vrat" (vow of silence) on the issue.

Sharma insisted that Congress was not interested in a meeting for the sake of meeting and needed to be told what "action" the Prime Minister intended to take on the demands that have led to disruptions in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha since the Monsoon session began on July 21. Squarely blaming the government for the stalemate in Parliament, Sharma, who is Deputy leader of Congress in the Rajya Sabha, said the Prime Minister has made no effort to ensure that Parliament functions efficiently.