Centre reaches out to Opposition in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: In a bid to avoid a major embarrassment in Rajya Sabha, the government has begun parleys with Opposition parties to not press for a vote on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.

The government had been put on the mat in both 2015 and 2016 when it was forced to amend the President’s address. The treasury bench strategists and floor managers have already reached out to main opposition parties which include Congress, Trinamul and the Left.

The desperation to get a majority in the Upper House was also evident when the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi speaking in Aligarh said the Opposition had joined hands in Uttar Pradesh not merely to defeat the BJP in the elections but also to stall the BJP’s efforts to get a majority in the Rajya Sabha.

The Opposition parties have jointly moved over a thousand amendments in both Houses on the President’s address. While in the Lok Sabha, 415 amendments have been moved, in Rajya Sabha a total of 651 amendments have been moved, out of which 19 are on demonetisation alone.

The government is concerned as it remains a minority in Rajya Sabha. While the BJP- led NDA has 74 seats in Rajya Sabha, Congress with other anti-BJP forces have a total 125 seats.

The maximum number of amendments to the President’s address have been moved by the Congress and the Trinamul.

However, with the assembly elections on, the government could escape facing the embarrassment as Trinamul Congress with 11 Rajya Sabha MPs might press for amendments, but “not push for voting”.

Sources said that there were indications that other Opposition parties, which include RJD, also “might not push for voting.”