Govt reaches out to BJP for smooth functioning of Parliament

New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) With frequent disruptions
affecting business in Parliament, Indian Government Friday
reached out to country's main opposition party BJP to get the
Monsoon Session going but dismissed Left allegations of a
backroom deal with the party.
Leader of the House in Lok Sabha(Lower House of Indian
Parliament) Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal Friday met senior Bhartiya Janta
Party(BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani to discuss smooth passage
of pending bills in the House.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok SabhaSushma Swaraj and
her Rajya Sabha(Upper House of Parliament) counterpart Arun
Jaitley were present at the 30-minute meeting where the
government requested cooperation for "expeditious" passage of
the bills listed for the session as 43 per cent of the
business timing has been wasted due to disruptions.
The government is concerned as almost half of the 28 day
Monsoon Session is over. Home Minister P Chidambaram, however,
said though Parliament started on a turbulent note in the
beginning of the week, there was peace and a lot of work
done in the end. He hoped the spirit would continue.
Bansal told reporters that the Government has got "good
response" from the meeting with BJP and it was prepared to
discuss any issue raised by any member.
Sushma Swaraj described the meeting as a "routine
courtesy call" by the two ministers.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda
Karat had on Wednesday reportedly alleged that Parliament
disruptions are a part of a backroom deal with Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.
Reacting to it Bansal said, "This allegation is baseless
and not appropriate. We have held talks with leader of Left
also from time to time. It is only pertinent that we talk to
everbody in a democracy."