Parliament winter session: 'Centre conspiring to divide Opposition', says Mallikarjun Kharge

New Delhi [India], December 20 (ANI): Demanding the government call an all-party meeting, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the Centre's invitation to four Opposition parties to discuss the issue of 12 MPs was "a conspiracy to divide the Opposition."
"The government has called for a meeting of four Opposition parties on the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs. This is a conspiracy to divide the Opposition. All Opposition parties are united on this issue. We have written to the government to call an all-party meeting," Kharge told reporters.
Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said running of the Parliament depends on the government.
"It depends upon the government as to how it wants to run the Lok Sabha. The government has not called us for any meeting as the matter is of Rajya Sabha," Chowdhury said adding that the Opposition will raise the issue of the resignation of the Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni over the Lakhimpur Kheri issue.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi criticized the Opposition for creating the logjam over the function of the parliament.

"We want to talk to the Opposition parties whose Rajya Sabha MPs have been suspended to find a solution. They (Opposition) are boycotting the meeting. They also boycotted the Constitution Day event...They should understand that the public is also boycotting them," Pralhad Joshi told ANI.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with senior ministers of his government in Parliament today to discuss various issues and the further strategy for the ongoing winter session.
Union Ministers including Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Kiren Rijiju and others were present in the meeting.
Opposition parties have decided not to attend meetings called by the government to end the deadlock in the Rajya Sabha in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
The decision was made after a meeting of opposition parties this morning.
"We will not attend the meeting called by the Government. We will demand the resignation of MoS Home Ajay Kumar Misra and revocation of suspension of 12 Opposition MPs in Rajya Sabha. We will not let both Houses of Parliament function," Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.
Today's meeting of floor leaders of both Houses of Parliament was convened to chalk out the further strategy on revoking suspension of 12 Opposition MPs and demand for resignation of Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni.
Notably, the Central government had called a meeting of five political parties today whose MPs have been suspended from the Rajya Sabha to break the deadlock between the government and the Opposition in the House.
12 Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended from the House on the first day of the Winter session of Parliament from 5 Political Parties including Congress, TMC, Shivsena, CPI, CPI(M). After the suspension, all 12 MPs have been sitting on Dharna daily basis in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned several times due to the ruckus in the Upper House by the Opposition parties demanding to revoke the suspension of MPs in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
The winter session of Parliament is scheduled to culminate on 23 December. (ANI)