Ahead of the Budget Session, an all-party meeting was held at Parliament on Sunday with Union Ministers, Ramdas Athawale, Praful Patel, Chirag Paswan, Rajnath Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gaurav Gogoi, and BJP President JP Nadda among notable attendees.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi was also present at the meeting.

While the meeting hosted by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju was attended by political leaders across party lines, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders skipped it as they were away from the national capital in West Bengal for a mega Martyrs’ Day rally.

Party sources clarified that it was not a boycott but a reflection of the day’s importance.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is also in Kolkata to attend the event at the invitation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Speaking at the meeting, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar called it a formality as the Parliament session is scheduled to start tomorrow. “However, it is our responsibility to raise public issues, and we will definitely do that. The biggest issue is NEET; it needs to be cancelled.”

CPI-M MP John Brittas emphasised the need for addressing public concerns, including the situation in Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, “communal polarisation” in Uttar Pradesh, exam frauds, and unemployment. “Parliament should function properly and there should be debate and discussion, which has not happened for the past 10 years. We want the government to understand the ground reality. The unemployment rate is at its peak, and people are starving. There has been an assault on the power of the states,” Brittas stated.

After the meeting, NCP leader Praful Patel remarked, “These are formalities; such meetings are called before every session. All parties have given their suggestions on the budget session. Many parties have raised the issues of their respective states. What I have suggested is that the session should run smoothly without any interruptions, which has become a tradition now to interrupt and create chaos. All the matters should be discussed and debated, but peacefully. No discussion was held regarding the post of deputy speaker. I think the government should call a different meeting for this issue in which the government and opposition sit together and discuss.”

Congress raises NEET, deputy speaker’s issues

According to sources, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi raised the issues related to NEET, the alleged misuse of Central agencies like ED and CBI, and the deputy speaker post.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav brought up the issue of mandatory display of nameplates by food and fruit vendors along the Kanwar route in Uttar Pradesh, the sources said.