The Government on January 28 made a strong pitch for the passage of the instant triple talaq bill in the budget session and said it would talk to various parties to bring about consensus on the issue.
A day before the start of the session, the government met leaders of several political parties in Parliament House and sought their cooperation in ensuring its success.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, besides leaders of the opposition and other parties.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kumar termed the all-party meeting “fruitful“.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged political leaders at the meeting to ensure success of the budget session,” Mr. Kumar said adding that the “government will do everything to ensure passage of the triple talaq bill in the session”.
He said the government would talk to parties for consensus.
Along with the instant triple talaq bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, the government is expected to push the bill which seeks to grant constitutional status to the OBC Commission. The Opposition, meanwhile, plans to counter the government on issues such as rising incidents of rapes, alleged “attack” on constitutional institutions and the plight of traders.
“We want to raise these issues as they are important. The government should adopt a cooperative attitude and allow the opposition to raise these issues,” Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said ahead of the meeting.
The Opposition was represented by Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress) Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), D. Raja (CPI), Kanimozhi (DMK), Derek O’Brien and Sudip Bandhopadhyay (Trinamool Congress) and Tariq Anwar (NCP) at the meeting.
Two-part session
The session will open with the customary address of the President to a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Following the address by President Ram Nath Kovind, the economic survey will be tabled in both Houses.
Mr. Jaitley will present the current BJP-led NDA regime’s last full-fledged budget on February 1.
The first spell of the session will end on February 9. Parliament will meet again between March 5 and April 6.