No need to pull each other down: Rijiju on becoming Parliamentary Affairs Minister

New Delhi: Insisting that the government will take every step to reach out to all sections to run the Parliament smoothly, new Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said no one needs to pull each other down, on the basis of numerical advantage, to roughshod the proceedings in the House, and "vocal power" should be used for "good, positive" debate.

Taking over as the minister in the presence of outgoing Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, he urged all parties to cooperate with the government in the running of the House. Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan also took charge as Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs along with Rijiju.

However, the initial signals were not enthusiastic with Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh saying that the allocation of the Parliamentary Affairs portfolios "inspires no confidence whatsoever that the Prime Minister wants Parliament to function any differently than the manner in which he has run it over the past decade. 

"However whatever be the "divine" signals, the I.N.D.I.A. 'Janbandhan' is more than determined to reflect the will and mandate of the people in both Houses of Parliament most effectively," he posted on 'X' before Rijiju took office.

While the ruling BJP-led NDA has 293 MPs, the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. has 240, which was an improvement from the previous years' numbers and the opposition benches are expected to be more vociferous than earlier.

"I don't think we need to pull each other down on the basis of numerical strength. People use muscle power outside Parliament, but inside the House, we should use vocal power for good debate," he said when asked whether a vigorous Opposition with more numbers could create trouble for the government," he said.

With the Congress demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into what it called a "stock market scam", Rijiju refused to be dragged into the matter on the first day in office saying he wanted to begin on a positive note and does not want to talk about those issues right now.

"Discussions in Parliament are about our future. The objective of all MPs is to serve the nation. We want their contribution. We will take 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' forward from the Parliament. Everyone should respect the mandate. Be it the government or the Opposition, everyone has a common responsibility. We want good discussion. I am starting on a positive note," Rijiju told reporters.

Asserting that MPs from all sides have the responsibility for equal responsibility to run the House, he said one should respect the mandate and those who have been given the mandate to run the government should run it while those who have been given the mandate to sit in Opposition should discharge its responsibility.

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