Ahead of the Parliament’s Budget session to begin tomorrow (July 22), the Opposition has put slew of demands before the government. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday during the session. The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and was convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju.
BJP president J P Nadda, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and Union minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan were among the leaders who attended the meet.
Besides, Congress' Ramesh and K Suresh, as also Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM, RJD's Abhay Kushwaha, JD(U) Sanjay Jha, AAP's Sanjay Singh, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav and NCP's Praful Patel were present at the customary meet.
It is expected that a united Opposition will corner the BJP-led NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
Here is what transpired at all-party meeting:
Defence Minister Singh and Rijiju put forth the government's view at the customary meet.
The Congress has sought the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker's position for the Opposition in the meet and also raised the issue of paper leaks, including of the prestigious NEET, PTI reported.
Reports also said Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the Opposition should be allowed to raise issues in Parliament after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju sought cooperation from every party for the smooth running of the two Houses.
Samajwadi Party MP Ramgopal Yadav, as per PTI, raised the issue of the Uttar Pradesh government's controversial directive to eateries on the kanwariya route to display the owners' names.
The YSR Congress spoke about the TDP government's alleged targeting of its leaders in Andhra Pradesh and sought the Centre's intervention.
Separately, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in the all-party meeting, the JD(U) and the YSRCP demanded special category status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh respectively but "strangely" the TDP kept quiet on the matter.
In a post on X, Ramesh, who was present at the meeting said, “In today's all-party meeting of floor leaders chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the JD(U) leader demanded special category status of Bihar. The YSRCP leader demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Strangely, the TDP leader kept quiet on the matter.”
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