Govt holds all-party meeting ahead of Monsoon session of Parliament

NEW DELHI: A day before the Monsoon session of Parliament begins, the government on Sunday held an all-party meeting that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and floor leaders of various political parties.

Besides Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister and Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi were present at the meeting.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also attended the meeting.

Floor leaders of all prominent opposition parties, including Derek O' Brien from TMC, Tiruchi Siva from DMK, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP's Satish Mishra were also present.

Apna Dal leader and NDA ally Anupriya Patel and LJP leader Pashupati Paras also attended the meeting.

The Monsoon session of Parliament will start from Monday and is scheduled to conclude on August 13.

On day one of the session, the prime minister will introduce the newly inducted ministers to both the Houses.

It is the convention that after the formation of a new government or an expansion or reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers, the prime minister introduces new ministers in both the Houses.

There was a major rejig in the Union Council of Ministers recently.

While several new faces were inducted, some ministers were elevated to the Cabinet rank and portfolios of some others were changed.

Some new members who recently entered Lok Sabha following bypolls would also take oath as members of the lower house on Monday.