Monsoon session of Parliament: All-party meet called by govt underway

An all-party meeting called by the government ahead of the start of the Monsoon session of Parliament got underway here on Sunday with leaders from across the political spectrum attending it.

The government is represented by senior Union Minister Rajnath Singh, deputy leader of the Lok Sabha, his cabinet colleague and BJP’s leader in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal, and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.

Leaders from almost all parties including Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Jairam Ramesh, DMK’s TR Baalu and Tiruchi Siva, TMC’s Sudeep Bandyopadhyay and NCP’s Sharad Pawar were present at the meeting.

BJD’s Pinaki Misra, YSRCP’s Vijaysai Reddy and Midhun Reddy, TRS’ Keshav Rao and Nama Nageshwar Rao, RJD’s AD Singh and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut were also present at the meeting.

It has been the practice of the government to call an all-party meeting before the start of the session to deliberate upon issues and build consensus.

During the meeting, it is expected that the opposition will push for a discussion on issues related to the Agnipath scheme, the economy, and unemployment.

The government is expected to put forward its legislative agenda. The Monsoon session of Parliament will begin on July 18 and will end on August 12.