Monsoon Session of the Parliament is set to begin tomorrow, and the government has convened an all-party meeting today. The meeting, a long-standing convention before every Parliament session, began at 11.00 am in the Main Committee Room of Parliament House Annexe. The government has a heavy legislative agenda, while Opposition parties will seek to raise their issues.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Tiruchi Siva said the Prime Minister earlier used to attend all-party meetings. "Before every session, the government convenes a meeting with all party leaders and floor leaders. They discuss how the House will function and which bills are to be taken up. Every party expresses the issues they want to raise on the floor of the House. It has been a long-standing convention that the Prime Minister attends such meetings. Nowadays, the Prime Minister does not attend; only the Defence Minister attends these meetings. We have reposed our confidence that Parliament will function democratically. Every party will express its views. Tomorrow, we will come to know which bills will be taken up in the upcoming session and the stand of every party. We will decide our strategy accordingly.”
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday wrote to Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebel MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who are among the 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs who joined the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI), inviting them to the all-party meeting. In his letter, Rijiju expressed hope for cooperation from all parties to ensure the smooth functioning of both Houses.
The monsoon session of Parliament will continue till August 13. Opposition parties are expected to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharemendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak and raise the issue of activist Sonam Wangchuk being shifted to a hospital from the protest site at Jantar Mantar.
Congress had earlier accused the government of trying to engineer a tainted two-thirds majority in Parliament, asserting that it is unlikely to secure the required numbers. The party said that even if the government manages to get a two-thirds majority, it would be a disgraced one and an insult to the Constitution of India. The party held the Parliamentary Strategy Group meeting earlier this week, which was presided over by the Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Jairam Ramesh said that the Congress will also seek debate on foreign policy challenges particularly in context of China, US and the deteriorating situation in West Asia. He said the new role assumed by Pakistan with the US support is a serious foreign policy setback, and the party will seek a discussion on it.
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