All-Party Meeting Called Ahead of Monsoon Session Amid Multiple Controversies

The central government has convened an all-party meeting on Sunday, a day before the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins, seeking cooperation from all political parties for the smooth functioning of both Houses. The meeting, a long-standing parliamentary convention, is scheduled to start at 11 am in the main committee room of the Parliament House Annexe.

The Monsoon Session will run from Monday to August 13. The government is expected to outline its legislative agenda, while Opposition parties plan to raise several political, economic, and governance-related issues.

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva noted that all parties traditionally present the issues they intend to raise during the session. He remarked on the Prime Minister's absence from recent such meetings, with only the Defence Minister attending, but expressed confidence that Parliament will function democratically.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has invited rebel Trinamool Congress MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar to the meeting, seeking their cooperation. This comes amid political realignments, including 20 TMC MPs joining the National Citizens Party of India, six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs joining the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs joining the BJP.

Key issues expected to dominate the session include the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, the removal of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site, and alleged irregularities in donations for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The Congress party has accused the government of attempting to engineer a two-thirds majority through defections.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, after a meeting of the party's Parliamentary Strategy Group, said the party has finalised its strategy. He alleged the government might try to reintroduce the Delimitation Bill, which was defeated in the Lok Sabha on April 17. He also questioned the government's majority, stating it is short of the two-thirds mark, especially in the Lok Sabha. He called the splits in TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) an insult to the Constitution.

The Congress will also demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak, raise the alleged 'E-20 scam', and seek a discussion on India's foreign policy regarding China, the US, West Asia, and Pakistan.

The session is also expected to introduce five new bills, including the Prevention of... (truncated due to input limit).