Let Rajya Sabha function, Naidu pleads

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Sunday appealed to opposition parties to allow the Rajya Sabha to function to pass important bills.

The minister alleged that by obstructing the business of the house for political reasons, the opposition was hurting national and people's interests.

Naidu said the opposition should allow the house to pass several important bills like insurance bill, coal mines nationalization amendment bill and anti-hijacking of aircraft bill.

"I appeal to the opposition... Please don't obstruct public interest and development. It's not in the country's interest and not in your public interest also," he told a news conference here.

"Parliament should not be seen as an obstacle for development and people's welfare," he said while advising the opposition to understand the spirit of parliamentary democracy.

Naidu said while the Lok Sabha passed a record number of 17 bills this session, the upper house was not functioning due to obstruction by some opposition parties who are insisting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in the house on conversions.

He argued that it should be left to the government to decide which minister should answer on which issue. 

Naidu said it was ironic that the party which participated in the proceedings in the Lok Sabha was stalling the business of the Rajya Sabha.

He said the opposition earlier did not allow the house to function on the issue of central minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's statement made outside parliament. 

The opposition insisted that the prime minister should make a statement. Even after Modi disapproved the minister's remarks, they continued to stall the proceedings.

Refuting the charge that India's secular fabric was under attack, the BJP leader said it was the Congress vote bank politics which was under attack.