PM Narendra Modi on Sunday, 18 July, chaired an all-party meeting ahead of the the Monsoon session of the Parliament scheduled to begin on Monday, and said that the government is ready to hold discussion on any subject if raised as per Parliamentary rules and procedures.
More than 40 leaders from 33 parties attended the all-party meeting on Sunday and discussed which subjects should be brought up during the session, news agency ANI reported.
Sunday's meeting, chaired by PM Modi, was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien and DMK's Tiruchi Siva, among others.
Post the meeting, PM Modi tweeted, saying he looked forward to a productive session.
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament will begin on 19 July and is likely to conclude on 13 August. Approximately 17 bills are expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha during the session.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that at the meeting, PM Modi told the attendees that the government is ready for healthy and meaningful discussion in Parliament on various issues, news agency PTI reported.
"He said that the government is ready to hold discussion on any subject if raised as per Parliamentary rules and procedures," Joshi said, according to ANI.
The prime minister reportedly said that all representatives' suggestions, including those from the Opposition are very valuable.
NDA Floor Leaders Hold Meet
On Sunday, after the all-party meeting, a meeting of National Democratic Alliance floor leaders was also held, at which PM Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, LJP leader and Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras were among those present.
BJP president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, TMC's GK Vasan, JDU's Ram Nath Thakur, NPP's Anupriya Singh Patel also attended the meeting.
Post the NDA meeting, PM Modi tweeted saying that the alliance would keep working for public good and fulfilling people's aspirations.
Since the pandemic began, three sessions of the Parliament – Budget, Monsoon and Winter – were curtailed. The Winter Session last year had to be cancelled. Last year, the Monsoon session, which usually starts in July, had begun in September.
This year's Monsoon Session comes after a devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, with the daily cases having peaked at more than four lakh and deaths at more than 4,000. The wave was marked by a crippling shortage of hospital beds, medical oxygen, and essential medicines.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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