Pralhad Joshi meets Sonia Gandhi, seeks cooperation in Budget session

New Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday met Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi and is believed to have discussed the Parliament session beginning June 17.

The session, the first of the newly elected 17th Lok Sabha, will go on till July 26 and the Budget will be presented on July 5.

Joshi’s visit to Gandhi’s residence is part of the government’s exercise to reach out to the opposition. The meeting lasted around 15 minutes, sources said.

Joshi has also met Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and DMK’s leader of house in the Lok Sabha T R Baalu.

Besides presentation of the budget, the government is planning to convert into law 10 new ordinances, including the one to ban the practice of instant triple talaq.

The ordinances were issued in February-March this year by the previous government.

After the new MPs take oath on the first two days, the Lok Sabha Speaker’s election is scheduled for June 19. President Ram Nath Kovind will address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on June 20.