Govt convenes all-party meeting ahead of Budget Session of Parliament

An all-party meeting convened ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament was held at the Parliament House complex today. During the meeting, the government sought cooperation from all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of the Parliament session. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Kiren Rijiju said that President Droupadi Murmu will address both Houses of Parliament on the opening day of the Budget Session tomorrow.

He added that, after the President’s address, an Economic Survey will be presented. He further stated that on Saturday, the Union Budget will be presented. Mr. Rijiju mentioned that during the session, discussions will be held on the President’s address, followed by discussions on the Budget. The discussions on the Budget will continue until 13th February.

The Budget Session will resume again on 10th March after a recess. He said there are 16 bills and 19 businesses already listed in the House. He also mentioned that Parliament will not function on the 5th of February as polling is scheduled in the national capital.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said that his party will raise the issues of unemployment, inflation and the constitution. He also expressed concern over the Mahakumbh incident. He alleged that Joint Parliamentary Committee report on the Waqf Amendment Bill was passed by the committee in haste.

Echoing the same view, Samajwadi party MP Professor Ram Gopal Yadav said that inflation, unemployment and tragic incident in Mahakumbh were raised during the all-party meeting. Commenting on the submission of report on the Waqf amendment bill, he alleged that it is not a report of a committee but it is a party report.

Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of the House in Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh, Health Minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Kiren Rijiju, Congress MPs Jairam Ramesh and Gaurav Gogoi, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav; BJD MP Sasmit Patra, and DMK MP T.R. Baalu, among others, were in attendance at the meeting.