Staff Reporter
The government today convened an all-party meeting at the Parliament House annexe ahead of the monsoon session of the parliament beginning tomorrow.
The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Jagat Prakash Nadda, Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and Dr L Murugan were also present in the meeting.
Just after the meeting began, opposition parties staged a symbolic walkout from the meeting over the participation of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
The NCPI is a registered party that has participated in state assembly elections, and recently, several rebel Trinamool Congress MPs have joined it.
Talking to media, TMC MP Mahua Moitra said that the opposition parties, including Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, JMM, Trinamool Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party, have walked out from the meeting.
She also alleged that NCPI is not a recognised parliamentary party. Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari described the walkout as a symbolic boycott against the NCPI being invited to the meeting.
However, after registering their protest, the opposition members are attending the meeting.
During the session, several important legislation are scheduled to be taken up for discussion and passage. With this meeting, the government will seek cooperation from all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of both Houses of Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session of the parliament.
The Monsoon Session will commence tomorrow and continue till the 13th of next month.