The Narendra Modi government on Sunday called an all-party meeting at Parliament House Annexe to discuss the agenda for the Winter Session, which is set to begin on December 1.
The meeting saw the participation of 50 leaders from 36 political parties, including the ruling BJP and the principal Opposition Congress.
Briefing mediapersons after the all-party meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju thanked floor leaders of all political parties.
Terming the meeting “very productive”, Rijiju said that the government will consider the suggestions and views expressed by the leaders and present them to the Business Advisory Committee.
“On behalf of the government, I assure you that we will continue to engage with the opposition in this manner to ensure the smooth functioning of the Winter Session of Parliament,” Rijiju said.
He also urged Opposition leaders to cooperate in ensuring the smooth functioning of Parliament during the Winter Session.
“In democracies, especially parliamentary democracies, deadlocks occur. There are differences among political parties. Everyone has to work with their own ideologies and agendas, so there will be differences. Despite these differences, if we all decide not to disturb the House, whatever opposition we want to raise, we should do so by speaking in the House. We should not disrupt the House in any way. House proceedings should continue…,” he said.
Congress questions Modi govt’s intention
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress has called the all-party meeting “a mere formality”. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh flagged that the Winter Session of 15 days will be the shortest in Parliamentary history.
“The Modi Govt has listed 13 Bills for passage. Of these, one replaces an ordinance, and two have gone through a committee of the Lok Sabha. So ten Bills have not been examined by the Standing Committee concerned. Of course, it is possible that a Bill not listed at present will suddenly get introduced towards the later part of the short session,” he said.
He said that the government has made its intentions clear by listing a subject for a short-duration discussion without any consultation with the Opposition.
The Winter Session of Parliament is set to begin on Monday from December 1, and will continue till December 19.
During the session, Parliament is proposed to have 15 sittings across 19 days.