New Delhi: Ahead of the winter session of parliament that is set to commence on Monday, the government held an all-party meeting on Sunday (November 30) in which the opposition parties demanded a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), national security in light of the Delhi bomb blast and rising air pollution among other issues.

The meeting was attended by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Bharatiya Janata Party president and leader of house in the Rajya Sabha J.P. Nadda on the government side, along with representatives of 36 political parties.

'Likely to be the shortest winter session'

Following the meeting, Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, said that it appears that the government itself wants to derail parliament by shortening the winter session to only 19 days.

"The government is insistent on ending parliamentary traditions. The winter session is only 19 days long, of which discussions can take place only for 15 days. This will likely be the shortest winter session ever. There has been a delay as well in calling the parliament session so it seems the government itself wants to derail parliament," he said to reporters.

Gogoi said that during the meeting, opposition members had raised security issues following the blast in Delhi.

"The second is the security of democracy. The manner in which the Election Commission is taking sides, the protection of voter lists and elections is an important issue. Our third demand was the security of our health, given the way air pollution is increasing in every corner of the country. The fourth issue was our economic security, farmers, labourers are not getting fair wages. The fifth issue we raised was natural security and the manner in which floods, landslides, and hurricanes are occurring, there is no preparation," he said.

Opp unanimous in demand for SIR discussion

Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas said that the opposition parties were unanimous in their demand for a discussion on the SIR, which is underway across 12 states and Union Territories.

“The opposition parties were unanimous that the issue of SIR should be discussed, along with national security, rural distress and federal issues, how governors sit on bills passed by state legislatures... [a] whole range of issues was raised by the opposition and other parties,” said Brittas after the meeting.

“I also pointed out that the Honourable Parliamentary Affairs Minister is on record saying that not specifically on SIR but if the topic is broadened to include reforms, then the government is ready for a discussion. We welcome that, let them widen the topic and bring reforms in the electoral process. We are ready for that. It is upto the government to decide whether this winter session is conducted smoothly or not.”

The monsoon session of parliament was a washout with opposition members's demand for a discussion on SIR going unheeded. Opposition members said that while there has been no decision to stall parliament during the winter session, “good sense” must prevail on the part of the Treasury benches.

“We still expect that since all the opposition parties have demanded that the SIR be discussed, good sense will prevail upon the ministry, and they will begin the discussion on the SIR. They should make that commitment,” said Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee.

Rijiju said that while some members in the meeting had said that there may be a ruckus if there is no discussion on SIR, no party said they will not let parliament function.

"No one said that the parliament will not function or [they] will not let it function. Some leaders said that they can create a ruckus in the House over SIR. I am saying this in a positive manner that we are ready to listen to the opposition. Parliament belongs to everyone; it belongs to the country. There is a method to discuss every issue in the Parliament. There are rules, there are conventions under which parliament functions,” said Rijiju after the meeting.

Rijiju described the meeting as "productive" and said that the suggestions will be put before the Business Advisory Committee.

"The meeting was very good and very productive. I thank the floor leaders of all political parties. Everyone participated and presented their party's views. We will consider all the suggestions received today from the floor leaders of political parties and will then present them to the Business Advisory Committee," he said.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.