The central government and the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday appeared to inch towards a middle path after a fortnight with the INDIA parties deciding to give up their insistence on suspension of business to discuss Manipur if the treasury benches agreed to a motion under Rule 167.

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal is understood to have agreed to their suggestion but has sought time to get it cleared from the BJP’s senior leadership. In doing so, the government would also be giving up its preference for having a short-duration discussion on Manipur under Rule 176.

The initial breakthrough came on Thursday morning in the House itself when Trinamul Congress leader Derek O’Brien said instead of wrangling over rules and procedure, the need of the hour is to be heard. "People of the country want to hear us on Manipur… We are not here to show ego or arrogance. Manipur needs care, needs healing… Let us find a solution because this logjam is helping nobody. Manipur has to be discussed for six hours, eight hours,’’ he said and drew instant appreciation from chairman Jagdeep Dhankar who described his suggestion as "wholesome".

Stating that the government has always been ready for a discussion, Goyal said the discussion can be slotted according to the convenience of home minister Amit Shah. He followed this up by walking across to the office of the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge along with parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi to discuss the "middle path" as INDIA party leaders described their proposal.

Slotting of the discussion is proving to be an uphill task as Friday is private member’s day and the contentious Delhi services bill is likely to come to the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing on Monday. The next three days will be dominated by the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha and Shah’s presence in the Rajya Sabha for the Manipur discussion will have to be worked around this schedule.

Scheduling issues apart, the government and the Opposition will also have to agree on the wording of the motion. Rule 167 allows for a discussion on a matter of public interest but it has to be based on a motion.

"INDIA parties have offered a middle path solution to the Leader of the House to break the logjam and get a discussion on Manipur going in an uninterrupted manner in the Rajya Sabha. Hope the Modi government agrees,’’ tweeted Congress senior in the House, Jairam Ramesh.