Parliament Monsoon session from Monday, parties brace for weekend meets
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sit with his senior party leaders on the parliamentary board on Saturday to finalize the NDA’s vice-presidential candidate for the August 6 elections.
There are hectic political discussions for the weekend as the monsoon session of Parliament begins on Monday with the presidential election. While the ruling NDA and the opposition will hold separate meetings to choose their vice-presidential candidates, the two sides will sit together to discuss ways for a smooth session that ends on August 12.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sit with his senior party leaders on the parliamentary board on Saturday to finalize the NDA’s vice-presidential candidate for the August 6 elections.
The members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are included in the electoral college to choose the next Vice-President. The NDA candidate is expected to win as out of the current strength of 780, BJP has 394 MPs, which is more than the 390 mark of majority. To put up a fight, the opposition parties are trying to field a joint candidate. , A meeting of opposition leaders including Congress is going to be held on Sunday to discuss the joint candidate.
BJP President JP Nadda is expected to meet his party MPs on Saturday evening. The BJP leaders will also meet their alliance partners to discuss the monsoon session and the vice-presidential election.
Sources said the government has called an all-party meeting on Sunday to discuss the agenda for the monsoon session and sought the opposition’s support for a “successful” session. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will hold floor leaders meeting in each House for the same purpose.
Meanwhile, addressing a meeting of presiding officers of 17 states and union territories, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the discussion should be dignified and the members should conduct themselves according to the decorum of the House.
Birla also mentioned that opposition MPs have started protesting against a regular Rajya Sabha circular prohibiting demonstrations, dharnas or religious gatherings on the premises of Parliament House. “It (such circulars to members) is a process. This practice has been going on for a long time… in 2009 or even earlier,” he said.
