All-party meet: Opposition raises eatery, NEET rows; govt calls for smooth running of Parliament

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.

New Delhi: In an indication of how stormy the upcoming Budget session will be, an aggressive Opposition put forward several demands from the government in the first all party-meeting of the 18th Lok Sabha that took place on Sunday.

The Congress raised the issue of irregularities in the NEET as well as UPSC exams, apart from the Uttar Pradesh government diktat for hotel-owners to display names, an issue which was also raised by the Samajwadi Party.

The Left parties also raised NEET, while YSRCP and TDP both raised cases of political violence in Andhra Pradesh. NDA ally JD(U) as well as INDIA constituent RJD both demanded Special Status for Bihar, while YSRCP demanded the Special Status for Andhra. Even the Biju Janata Dal asked for Special Status for Odisha. The Congress asked for the position of the Deputy Speaker of the House.

The meeting was chaired by union defence minister Rajnath Singh, while union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju urged all the parties present to cooperate in the running of a smooth Session. In response, Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said that the Opposition should be allowed to raise issues.

The Budget session, which commences Monday will be spaced out across 19 sittings till August 12 with union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Budget on Tuesday. The government will bring in six bills.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary (communications) said that the party demanded the government picks up the issue of NEET, NET and UPSC irregularities, railway safety and Agniveer, the internal security situation in Jammu and Manipur, border issues with China, as well as environmental concerns rising out of floods and natural disasters, deforestation and pollution. Issues relating to Centre-state relations and the economy and 'deliberate attempts at polarisation' in states like UP were also raised by Gogoi, Jairam added.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rijiju said that in all 55 leaders from 44 parties attended the meeting, and insisted that running the parliament smoothly was a “collective” responsibility of all parties. Congress’s K Suresh, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, RJD's Abhay Kushwaha, JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, NCP’s Praful Patel, TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, union minister and LJP’s Chirag Paswan, and BJP president and union minister JP Nadda were among those present. The Trinamool Congress was, however, absent from the meeting.

The Congress also urged the government to ensure that the Central Hall is made available to all Parliamentarians, since it was closed after the new Parliament building was inaugurated. Ramesh said that the Opposition also pressed for the constitution of the 24 Department-Related Standing Committees. “There was also an universal demand for reviving the Consultative Committees where MPs can interact with the Ministers concerned,” he added.