Union minister of parliamentary affairs Pralhad Joshi said on Sunday the Narendra Modi-led government was ready for any discussion without any disruption permitted by the Chairman and Speaker of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, respectively, during the winter session.
Talking to reporters after a customary session-eve meeting, Joshi said 31 parties participated in the talks. “As many as 42 leaders from various parties participated in a constructive discussion. The govt is ready for any discussions permitted by the Chairman and the Speaker without disruptions,” Joshi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said several issues, including inflation, fuel price hike, farmers' concerns and Covid-19, were raised at the meeting.
He further said that the parties had expected the Prime Minister to attend the meeting, but that did not happen. “For some reason, he didn't attend the meeting. The government has withdrawn the farm laws, but the PM had said he could not make the farmers understand. It means these laws may be brought back in some other form in future,” the senior Congress leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Besides Kharge, other prominent opposition leaders who were present at the customary session-eve meeting were Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Anand Sharma from the Congress, TR Baalu and Tiruchi Siva from the DMK, Sharad Pawar from the NCP, Vinayak Raut from the Shiv Sena, Ramgopal Yadav from the Samajwadi Party, Satish Mishra from the BSP, Prasanna Acharya from the BJD and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
{{/usCountry}}Besides Kharge, other prominent opposition leaders who were present at the customary session-eve meeting were Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Anand Sharma from the Congress, TR Baalu and Tiruchi Siva from the DMK, Sharad Pawar from the NCP, Vinayak Raut from the Shiv Sena, Ramgopal Yadav from the Samajwadi Party, Satish Mishra from the BSP, Prasanna Acharya from the BJD and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
{{/usCountry}}The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, walked out of the meeting, claiming it was not allowed to speak.
(With inputs from agencies)