Ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament, the Centre has called an all-party meeting on Thursday.

The Budget Session will commence on January 31 with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both Houses of Parliament on Friday and kickstarting the Budget session.

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The Finance Minister will table the “economic survey” on Friday. She will present the General Budget on Saturday. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will discuss the Motion of Thanks at the President’s Address on Monday (February 3).

Earlier, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the Budget Session of Parliament will start on January 31, and “the government has called an all-party meeting on January 30 to ensure the smooth functioning of the session”.

The Budget Session will be held in two phases as per the Parliamentary Bulletin.

The first phase will commence on January 31 and run until February 13. The Union Budget presentation is scheduled for February 1.

The second phase will start on March 10 and conclude on April 4.

“Discussions are scheduled for February 3, 4, and 6, with the reply set for February 6, provisionally allotted for discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address to be moved by a Member and seconded by another Member,” the bulletin read.

Earlier, Minister Kiren Rijiju addressed the media and called for cooperation from opposition leaders, urging them to allow constructive discussions. Expressing optimism about the Union Budget, Rijiju said that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present a balanced and comprehensive budget on February 1.

Rijiju also referred to the previous winter session of Parliament.

“In the last two sessions, there was some ‘hungama’ in the Parliament which created a poor image of our Parliament. I want to appeal to Opposition leaders and other MPs to take part and hold discussions in Parliament during the session. If the Opposition allows the Parliament to run, then discussions can happen easily,” he added.