Speaker seeks smooth session, Opposition wants Uttarakhand debate
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Sunday sought the cooperation of all parties for the smooth functioning of parliament during the session starting on Monday but the Uttarakhand developments are likely to overshadow proceedings with the opposition demanding a debate on the issue while the government appears keen to avoid it as long as the matter is before the court. At an all-party meeting convened by her here, Mahajan made a strong pitch for the session's smooth functioning. "All parties have promised they will cooperate to ensure a fruitful and functional session," she said later. But opposition parties, led by the Congress along with a number of regional parties including Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD), seemed to have geared up for taking on the BJP-led dispensation with all their might for its "misuse" of the Constitution's Article 356.
