Monsoon session of Parliament begins today

The Monsoon session of Parliament begins today. A total of 25 bills including the crucial Goods and Services Tax Bill are expected to come up for consideration and passage during the session. The session will have 20 working days and will conclude on the 12th of next month. The Government yesterday called an All Party Meeting at the Parliament House to seek the support of Opposition parties in the passage of pending legislations during the session.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the political parties to keep national interests above any other consideration. Mr Modi sought their support in the passage of the GST Bill, saying it was of national importance. He said it is immaterial which government takes credit for rolling out the GST. He said, all political parties are representative of the people and therefore national issues should be kept above everything else.

Responding to suggestions from some leaders for increasing the sittings of Parliament, Prime Minister said, he welcomed the suggestion and urged the leaders to ensure proper utilization of the available time. Briefing media persons after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said, the discussion was very fruitful and all parties assured their full cooperation during the session. He said, the Prime Minister assured representatives of parties present in the meeting that they will be taken on board on the passage of Bills.

Talking to media, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad



said the Congress will let the bills pass on basis of merit. He said, party will support any bill which will be in the interest of nation, people and growth. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, party has been requesting the government since two years to call an all party meet to discuss the GST bill to form consensus.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also convened an All Party Meeting yesterday to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament. They assured the Speaker to extend full cooperation in smooth functioning of House. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Ms Mahajan said, the parties expressed their views for discussions on various issues including terrorism, situation in Jammu and Kashmir and price rise.

During the meeting, leaders of the various parties including Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Sudip Bandyopadhyay of TrinaMool Congress, Bhartruhari Mahtab of Biju Janata Dal, P Karunakaran of CPI(M), Tariq Anwar of Nationalist Congress Party, were present. Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar also attended the meeting. Later, the Speaker hosted a dinner to the leaders in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi also joined. At the beginning of the meeting, Ms Mahajan launched an e-portal of members of the Lok Sabha. 

The BJP Parliamentary Party's Executive will meet today to firm up its strategy for the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The NDA constituents will also meet after the BJP Parliamentary Party executive meeting in the evening.