Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu urged all political parties to not hold up the proceedings in the House citing the growing distrust of the people over a non-functional Parliament.

On the basis of feedback he received from the people and a survey, Naidu said that people have expressed their lack of trust and confidence in both Parliament and political parties.

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The Vice-President – who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha – was chairing a meeting with eight Ministers and 23 leaders belonging to 20 parties on Tuesday, a day ahead of the start of monsoon session.

He asserted that smooth functioning of the House is not the responsibility of the Government alone but is a joint responsibility of all sections of the House. The V-P urged all parties and leaders to ensure a ‘win-win’ monsoon session and sought their cooperation.

“No party can bring the House to a standstill insisting on Government’s response even as the members and parties have a right to seek such a response. The better way would be to talk it out, walk out or vote out,” the Vice-President said.

“If the Government of the day is found to be unresponsive to genuine issues, it should be taken to the people instead of forcing adjournment of the House through persistent disruptions,” said Naidu.

Naidu also urged both the ruling and opposition parties to stop the “mutual blame game” and not to allow the coming election season in the country derail the House.

Referring to news reports about the meeting of opposition parties yesterday, Naidu said his hopes of a productive session were rekindled by their assertion of keenness for an effective monsoon session.

Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh observed that all the leaders endorsed the concerns and sentiments expressed by the Vice-President.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the opposition has about ten issues for discussion in the House and some of them could be taken up during the monsoon session. He suggested that the Government should start with Bills that have wider acceptance instead of taking up contentious issues.