New Delhi: An all-party meeting has been convened by the BJP-led government on Wednesday to discuss various matters concerning the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, commencing on July 20. The meeting aims to deliberate on a range of issues related to the session, reported news agency PTI.
As per the agency, it's a customary get-together on the eve of a session's start as various parties put across their issues at the meeting attended by senior government ministers. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also participated in many such meetings.
A similar all-party meeting was called on Tuesday by Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar but was later deferred due to the non-availability of leaders of many parties. While opposition parties are holding a meeting in Bengaluru, the ruling National Democratic Alliance is meeting in the national capital.
The session is expected to be stormy with the BJP and opposition parties sharpening attacks on each other as they gear up for a host of assembly polls this year and the Lok Sabha election next year.
The Congress party, along with other opposition parties, is seeking to corner the government by highlighting the Manipur crisis, as well as addressing concerns regarding price inflation and alleged misuse of investigative agencies.
It is to be noted that the last session was also marred by frequent opposition protests.
The first meeting of the united Opposition was held on June 23. The major difference between the first and second meetings is the presence of Sonia Gandhi. Her presence is being seen as a move to get the Congress, the largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha, back in the lead on the united Opposition platform. The Congress has, however, said that it is not interested in power or the post of the Prime Minister.
The united Opposition will field one candidate per seat against the BJP. Discussions on a seat-sharing formula are likely to take place at Tuesday's meeting. However, the parties in the previous meeting had decided that the individual seats and the candidates would be discussed at the state level.
Several parties, including the MDMK, KDMK, VCK, RSP, Forward Bloc, IUML, Kerala Congress (Joseph), and Kerala Congress (Mani), are among those joining the second opposition meeting.
The 24 Opposition parties collectively hold around 150 Lok Sabha seats.