NEW DELHI, 30 Jan: The government on Tuesday told the floor leaders of various parties that it is ready to discuss every issue in the upcoming budget session of Parliament.
Emerging from the customary all-party meeting convened by the government on the eve of the budget session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi described the interaction as “very cordial,” and said that the government is ready to discuss every issue during the brief session.
The session will be the last one of the present Lok Sabha before the parliamentary elections are announced.
Defence Minister and Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh, along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi and his deputy Arjun Ram Meghwal represented the government at the meet.
Congress’ K Suresh, TMC’s Sudip Bandopadhyay, DMK’s TR Baalu, Shiv Sena’s Rahul Shewale, Samajwadi Party’s ST Hasan, JD (U)’s Ram Nath Thakur, and TDP’s Jayadev Galla were among the leaders present at the meeting in the Parliament House complex.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, who represented Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, said that he raised the issue of the “violent attack” on the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in Assam and the state government’s curbs on it.
An “unwritten dictatorship” prevails in the country, he said, and accused the central government of misusing probe agencies such as the CBI and the ED to target opposition leaders such as Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad.
Tiwari said that he raised these issues after consulting opposition parties.
It is a customary practice ahead of every session to convene a meeting as leaders of different parties highlight the issues they want to raise in Parliament, and the government offers them a glimpse into its agenda and seeks their cooperation.
It will be a short session this time, between 31 January and 9 February, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to table an interim budget ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The new government will present the full-fledged budget.
The session will begin with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to a joint sitting of both Houses. (PTI)