Congress Alleges 'Unwritten Dictatorship', Slams Centre For 'Misusing' Probe Agencies At All-Party Meeting

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, representing Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha in the all-party meeting convened by the government on the eve of the Budget session, asserted the existence of an 'unwritten dictatorship' in the country.

He also accused the Centre of misusing probe agencies against opposition leaders ahead of Lok Sabha polls citing the example of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad.

Tiwari also raised concerns about the "violent attack" on Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in Assam and the state government's restrictions on it.

Before each session, highlighting issues after consulting with opposition parties is a customary practice.

Other Opposition leaders who attended the meeting were Congress' K Suresh, TMC's Sudip Bandopadhyay, DMK's T R Baalu, Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale, Samajwadi Party's S T Hasan, JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur, and TDP's Jayadev Galla.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Pralhad Joshi, and Deputy Parliamentary Affairs Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal from the government attended the meeting at the Parliament House complex.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, describing the interaction as "very cordial," emphasized the government's willingness to address every matter in the brief session, which marks the final one for the present Lok Sabha before parliamentary elections are announced.

The upcoming session, scheduled from January 31 to February 9.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present an interim budget ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with the new government presenting the full-fledged budget.

The session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of both Houses.