New Delhi: Opposition parties drew the battle lines on the eve of Parliament's Budget session on Sunday as they asked the government at an all-party meeting to allow discussion on a host of contentious issues such as the Uttar Pradesh government's order to eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route and exam paper leaks, including of the prestigious NEET.
The government, which breaking from the recent practice invited a number of smaller parties for the meeting to signal its political outreach, conveyed its willingness to discuss all issues but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stressed that it should be in accordance with the rules.
He called for cooperation from all parties for running Parliament smoothly, saying it is a collective responsibility.
Representatives from the JD(U), a BJP ally, the BJD and the YSR Congress Party demanded special category status for Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, at the meeting of 44 parties, including some having only one MP.
During the meeting, which was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, opposition RJD echoed the demand for Bihar.
Congress leader K Suresh told reporters that his party was joined by other INDIA bloc members in seeking the Lok Sabha deputy speaker's position for the opposition according to convention.
He said they also flagged the need for discussion in Parliament on a host of other issues, including the spate in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the Manipur situation, train accidents, unemployment and price rise.
The Congress flagged the issue related to alleged irregularities in the exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, whose chairperson resigned recently for reportedly personal reasons. The stand of several opposition parties, including the Congress, the DMK and the AAP, made it all but it was certain that the political heat sparked by the Uttar Pradesh government's order asking eateries and carts selling eatables to display their owners' names on the route of kanwarias will reach Parliament when the session begins from Monday.
Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that the move is clearly targeted at Muslims and accused the ruling BJP in the state of pursuing communally divisive politics.
Suresh said Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi criticised the decision at the all-party meeting, while AAP's Sanjay Singh added that he also spoke on similar lines.
Singh said he raised the issue of misuse of central probe agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, and accused the Narendra Modi government of targeting AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is lodged in the Tihar jail in the excise policy case.
He claimed that the Centre has been allocating only Rs 350 crore to Delhi for the past nine years and predicted that it will remain the same when the budget is tabled on July 23.
DMK's Tiruchi Siva slammed the government for its handling of medical entrance examination NEET and pressed for a discussion on the issue.
The government on its part asked opposition parties to not disrupt Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings, seeking their cooperation in running Parliament smoothly.
Rajnath Singh, Rijiju said, recalled the opposition's relentless protest during Prime Minister Modi's reply to the discussion in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address during the previous session, and said such disruptions should not take place.
Fifty-five leaders, including the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and BJP president J P Nadda, Congress' Jairam Ramesh, Union minister and LJP leader Chirag Paswan, attended the meeting.
The government invited all parties, including those having only one member, except Independents to the meeting, which lasted for over three hours.
The TMC was not represented in the meeting as the party was busy with its annual 'Martyrs' Day' rally in Kolkata on Sunday.
YSR Congress leader V Vijaysai Reddy alleged lawlessness in Andhra Pradesh following the formation of the TDP government there and demanded President's rule in the state.
Besides seeking special category status or a special package for Bihar, JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha sought the Centre's intervention to prevent annual floods in north Bihar due to the release of water from neighbouring Nepal.
BJD MP Sasmit Patra said after the meeting that his party will play the role of a strong opposition on the floor of the House.
Jairam Ramesh, who posted on X some of the points raised by different parties while attending the meeting, said in a post, "How the political climate has changed! In the all-party meeting of floor leaders, the BJD leader reminded the Defence Minister and BJP President JP Nadda that the BJP's manifesto for the 2014 assembly elections in Odisha had promised special category status to the state."
Ramesh later also said at the meeting, there was a universal demand for the Central Hall to be opened up again for MPs to mingle with each other.
The Budget session will have 19 sittings till August 12 when the government is expected to present six Bills, including the one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act, and also get Parliament's nod for the budget of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under central rule.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey in Parliament on Monday and present the budget the next day.
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