An all-party meeting began at the Parliament on Sunday, ahead of the first Parliament session of the 17th Lok Sabha beginning Monday.
Since this is also be the Budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to seek the cooperation of all parties given that the government has plans to table a few key bills during the session. An all-party meeting is a customary exercise ahead of a Parliament session to ensure its smooth function.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi and leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Thawar Chand Gehlot were among those present at the meeting.
Leaders of other parties at the meeting include V Vijayasai Reddy of YSRCP, Derek O’Brien of TMC, Farooq Abdullah of National Conference, NCP’s Supriya Sule, Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal (Sonelal), AAP’s Sanjay Singh and Jayadev Galla of TDP, ANI reported.
A meeting of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders is scheduled in the Parliament later in the evening to discuss strategies for the upcoming session.
BJP parliamentary party executive committee meeting is also scheduled to be held this evening.
The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha will run from June 17 to July 26 during which the Union Budget will be presented by the new government on July 5.
The government is keen on support and cooperation of all parties which is necessary for the passing of key bills in Rajya Sabha, where the government is still in minority.
In the Lok Sabha, the NDA has simple majority with 353 members out of the 545 seats. But it has only 102 members in the 245-member upper house which might affect the passing of key bills, like the Triple Talaq Bill and Aadhar another Laws (Amendment) Bill 2019 which will be introduced in this session. The Triple Talaq bill had stalled in the Rajya Sabha in the last Parliament.
Meanwhile, there is no clarity on who will be the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha following the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections of Mallikarjun Kharge, who led Congress in the 16th Lok Sabha.
Earlier there were talks that Rahul Gandhi, who is reluctant to continue as Congress president after the party’s drubbing the polls, will be taking charge of the party in the lower House.
First Published:
Jun 16, 2019 13:25 IST
Source: HindustanTimes