Monsoon Session: Rajnath Singh appeals to opposition at all-party meeting

PTC News Desk: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated on Sunday that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has advised all Members of Parliament to abstain from intervening and interrupting when a colleague member is speaking in the House.

Following an all-party meeting, Rijiju told reporters, “Defense Minister Rajnath Singh appealed that we are committed to strengthening democracy and we shouldn’t interfere and interrupt when any member speaks in the Parliament.”

“PM Modi was speaking on a Motion of Thanks to the President during the special session. It was interrupted in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Rajnath Singh Ji has argued today that this is detrimental to parliamentary democracy. The House and the nation should pay attention to what the PM has to say, he continued.

Prior to the Monsoon session, Rijiju thanked the floor leaders of all parties for their insightful recommendations.

“We have considered the recommendations made by each floor leader. Both the administration and the opposition have a duty to ensure the smooth operation of the Parliament, the minister stated.

Attending the meeting were Jairam Ramesh and K Suresh from the Congress, Asaduddin Owaisi from AIMIM, Abhay Kushwaha from the RJD, Sanjay Jha from JD(U), Sanjay Singh from the AAP, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, and Praful Patel from the NCP.

According to Jairam Ramesh, the JD(U) and YSRCP sought special category status for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, but “strangely” the TDP remained silent.

Leader of the BJD Sasmit Patra said reporters that his party wanted Odisha to be placed in a distinct category.

With a unified opposition aiming to corner the NDA administration on matters ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety, the monsoon session is expected to be turbulent.

The ninety-year-old Aircraft Act will be replaced by six new legislation that the government will likely propose to Parliament along with the budget for Jammu and Kashmir, which is governed by the national government. The session starts on Monday and will last for nineteen sittings till August 12.

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