New Delhi: Chairing an all-party meeting on the eve of the first session of the new Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday invited heads of all parties to a meeting on June 19 to discuss the “one nation, one election” issue and other important matters.
Addressing his first all-party after coming back to power, Mr Modi told the MPs that the first session of the new Lok Sabha should begin with “fresh zeal and new thinking”.
As the Prime Minister sought to drum up support for the key Bills ahead of the Parliament session, Opposition parties sought discussions on issues like farmers’ distress, drought, unemployment, women’s reservation Bill and press freedom.
“We had a fruitful all-party meeting, the first one after the election results and before the start of the Monsoon Session. Thankful to the leaders for their valuable suggestions. We all agreed on the smooth running of Parliament so that we can fulfil people’s aspirations,” the Prime Minister tweeted after the meeting.
Parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi told the media after the meeting that Mr Modi asked leaders of all parties to “introspect whether members of Parliament are able to fulfil people’s aspirations as their representatives and the manner in which last two years of the 16th Lok Sabha were wasted”.
In order to build “esprit de corps”, Mr Modi has invited chiefs of all parties who have an MP either in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha for a meeting on June 19.
The meeting has been called to discuss “one nation, one election” issue, celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence in 2022 and 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary this year, Mr Joshi said. The meet on June 19 would be followed by a dinner meeting with all MPs of both the Houses on June 20 where they can freely interact and exchange views with the government, he added. Trinamul Congress demanded that electoral reforms should be discussed.
