All-Party Meet Scheduled Ahead of Monsoon Session

The government has called an all-party meeting on July 21 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which begins on July 22. The Trinamool Congress will not attend due to their Martyrs' Day observance. The session is expected to witness debates on multiple issues raised by the opposition.

The government has convened an all-party meeting on July 21 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament due to begin next Monday, according to the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry.

Scheduled for 11 am on Sunday, the meeting has been called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. It marks Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's first attendance at the session-eve meeting of floor leaders from all parties, should he choose to be present.

However, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has stated that no representatives from the party will attend the gathering, as July 21 is observed by the party as Martyrs' Day. TMC's parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha, Derek O'Brien, wrote to Rijiju to inform him of their absence due to the long-standing memorial event. For three decades, July 21 has been remembered as 'Martyrs' Day' in Bengal, commemorating 13 colleagues who died in a police firing incident in 1993.

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the state Youth Congress chief at that time, continues to honor the day, holding a rally each year, even after forming the TMC in 1998.

The Monsoon Session, running from July 22 to August 12, includes the presentation of the Union Budget on July 23. Debates are anticipated on various opposition-raised issues including the NEET controversy, the Manipur situation, and price rise.

Past sessions saw protests during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, with opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha demanding a statement on Manipur and staging a walkout in the Rajya Sabha.