The government has convened an all-party meeting on July 21 ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has convened a meeting of the floor leaders of political parties in Parliament to understand issues they would want to raise during the session.
The Monsoon Session will commence on July 22 and will have 19 sittings till August 12. This meeting holds significance as it marks the first expected attendance of Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
However, sources from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not attend the meeting citing July 21 as Martyrs Day, observed annually in memory of 13 Congress supporters, who were tragically killed in 1993 during a Kolkata Police firing incident. This incident occurred during a march to the state secretariat, Writers Buildings, under the CPI(M)-led Left Front government in West Bengal.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget on the first day of the session. Sitharaman will also table the Economic Survey in Parliament on July 22.
The government is expected to present six bills, including the one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act, and also get the Parliament nod for the budget of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under central rule.
Meanwhile, the former Odisha chief minister and BJP leader Naveen Patnaik has asked his party MPs to take up the demand for special category status for Odisha.