The voter roll revision in Bihar, Pahalgam terror attack and US President Donald Trump’s ‘ceasefire’ claims were the issues highlighted by the opposition during an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the monsoon session.
The government, meanwhile, sought cooperation from opposition parties for the smooth conduct of the House, which will be in session from Monday (July 21). The session will continue till August 21, with no sittings on August 13 and 14 due to Independence Day celebrations.
On the goings-on at the all-party meeting, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi told news agency ANI: “It is customary to hold such a meeting before the new session of Parliament begins. Kiren Rijiju has already clarified that all issues will be discussed. The condition is that the opposition allows the Parliament session to run smoothly."
“The government said the House will continue till August 12. Then there will be holidays for four days and the session will resume from August 18. They said 11 bills will be passed and two other discussions will be held. Then they asked all the opposition parties to express their views. All the parties demanded discussion on Operation Sindoor, Pahalgam. The second was on foreign policy. Donald Trump is saying something every day. The third issue was how the Election Commission is working in Bihar right now. After that, we raised the issue of law and order. We raised the issue of language, farmers’ suicide, mill workers of Mumbai. We said that all these issues should come up for discussion," Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant told ANI after the meeting.
INDIA bloc parties have sought a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar before the assembly elections, which the opposition alleges “threatens people’s voting rights".
Apart from the controversial voter list revision, they have resolved to raise the issue of terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack not being brought to justice in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump’s repeated claims of brokering a ‘ceasefire’ during India-Pakistan military standoff.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said his party wants answers from Modi. He said it was incumbent on him to give a statement in Parliament on key issues raised by his party.
Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said he raised the alleged “poll scam" of SIR in Bihar and Trump’s claim that he brokered ‘ceasefire’ between India and Pakistan, at the meet. Responding to a question, he said INDIA bloc is only for Lok Sabha polls and the AAP is contesting assembly polls on its own.
The BJD’s Sasmit Patra said the Centre cannot escape responsibility from the “failing" law and order in states and Parliament should debate it.
Patra was referring to an incident of self-immolation by a college student and another case of a 15-year-old being set on fire by a group of men. He said there was a “complete collapse" of law and order in Odisha and the BJP government there was “helpless" and had “failed".
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji, who also attended the meeting, expressed concern about the treatment her state, Jharkhand, receives from the central government. Despite being rich in minerals, she said the state is one of the poorest in India.
“Jharkhand is a very rich state, it has lots of minerals but it is among the three poorest states. Unfortunately, the Centre is giving step-motherly treatment to Jharkhand… We want our state to be supported, so it becomes easy for our government to implement the schemes for farmers, women and the schemes that we have started," Maji said.
The upcoming monsoon session will be the first in Parliament following Operation Sindoor, which was launched by India on May 7 in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.
The budget session of Parliament began on January 31 and witnessed the passage of significant legislation, including the Waqf Amendment Bill.
In the upcoming session, the Centre is likely to introduce and pass the several bills, including the Lok Sabha Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Geo-Heritage Sites and Geo-Relics (Conservation and Maintenance) Bill, 2025, Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025, National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The agenda of the government also includes the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024, the Indian Ports Bill, 2025, and the Income Tax Bill, 2025.
Leaders of various political parties attended the meeting chaired by Union minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha JP Nadda. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and his junior minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also represented the government.
Gogoi and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress, Supriya Sule of NCP-Sharad Pawar, DMK’s TR Baalu and RPI(A) leader and Union minister Ramdas Athawale were among those who attended.
Among others present were Congress MPs K Suresh, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, Union minister Anupriya Patel, and BJP MP Ravi Kishan. The meeting also witnessed the participation of representatives from the Samajwadi Party (SP), YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Janata Dal (United), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Source: ANI
