Sonia asks party MPs to be regular in parliament

With the government bracing up to face the opposition-sponsored cut motions on the Finance Bill, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday asked party MPs to attend parliament regularly.

With the government bracing up to face the opposition-sponsored cut motions on the Finance Bill, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday asked party MPs to attend parliament regularly.

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Congress sources said that Gandhi, who chaired a meeting of office-bearers and conveners of the parliamentary party here, said that presence of members in the house helped in smooth conduct of legislative business.

She also said that parliament proceedings were a learning experience for new members.

The sources said that though Gandhi had laid stress on members attending parliament regularly in the past too, her thrust on the issue at Friday's meeting comes in the context of the government walking a tightrope in getting the financial agenda passed in parliament in the second half of budget session.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), which had announced withdrawal of support to the government over the women's reservation bill last month, have joined hands with the non-Bharatiya Janata Party opposition to bring cut motions on the budget proposals.

The BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Allaince have also decided to bring cut motions.