As the Opposition braced up to challenge the government on the demonetisation issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reached out to them in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the winter session of Parliament and exchanged greetings with various leaders, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Before the proceedings began, Mr. Modi met BJP leaders, including L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, and leaders of allied parties, Ram Vilas Paswan and Ashok Gajapati Raju.
Accompanied by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, the Prime Minister then walked up to the Opposition benches to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and exchanged pleasantries with her. He was also seen interacting with TMC leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kalyan Banerjee.
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Mr. Modi spoke briefly to Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambidurai and Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Home Minister was seen talking to Ms. Gandhi for some time after exchanging pleasantries.
Mr. Rajnath Singh, Mr. Kumar and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs S S Ahluwalia were also seen talking to the leaders of the TMC, which has upped the ante against the Prime Minister’s demonetisation move.
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After the House was adjourned, Mr. Modi was seen being greeted by a large number of BJP members, who had queued up along the aisle.
Meets media
Earlier, before the winter session began, the Prime Minister addressed the media .He thanked the Opposition parties for allowing the passage of the GST Bill in the previous session. He promised that the winter session would see "a very positive discussion" on all issues. He asserted that the government believed in debating every issue in an "open manner."