The all-party meeting was held on Monday, ahead of the beginning of Parliament Budget Session 2023. The customary meeting, called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, was held at Parliament Annexe Building. As many as 37 leaders from 27 parties participated in the all-party meeting, Union Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said.

Deputy Leader of the House Rajnath Singh, Parliament Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, MoS, Parliamentary Affairs, Arjuna, Ram Meghwal, and V Muraleedharan were among those present for the meeting.

Top leaders from the Opposition, including DMK leader TR Balu, TMC leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, TRS leaders K Keshava Rao and Nama Nageswara Rao, Farooq Abdullah from the National Conference and Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also attended in the meet.

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However, Congress leaders were absent. According to government sources, both Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury held up due to the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra that culminated in Srinagar today, news agency ANI reported.

Here's what Opposition leaders demanded during the all-party meet

> The YSR Congress has demanded a nationwide caste-based economic census at the all-party meeting on Monday. "We raised our demand to bring the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament and to hold a caste-based census," YSR Congress MP Vijay Sai Reddy was quoted by ANI as saying. It is necessary to know the economic status of the backward castes who are "lagging behind" on social and development indicators, the party said.

> Like the YSR Congress , the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is also batting for the Women's Reservation Bill. BJD MP Sasmit Patra said Women's Reservation Bill is going to be a priority for party in this session. "We've been pushing for the passage of the Bill. We'll also build consensus with like-minded parties to put pressure on the Govt to ensure that the Bill is passed," he said. The BJP also demanded renewal and continual of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

> The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) raised the issue of Chinese intrusion and asked for a discussion in the Parliament. The government responded to this by saying that some matters can’t be discussed on the floor of the house as it concerns security.

> The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) raised the Adani issue and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) raised the issue of the ban on the BBC documentary on PM Modi.

> The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture took up the issue of unruly behaviour by passengers on flights and what airlines need to do in this regard. Several officials from the civil aviation ministry will be present before the committee.

What else happened during the pre-budget meet

While the government sought cooperation from all parties for the smooth running of Parliament, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MP K Keshava Rao said the party will take a decision soon on whether it will boycott the President's address during Budget session of Parliament on Tuesday.

This all-party meeting will be followed by a meeting of NDA floor leaders in the afternoon. It will focus on strategizing floor cooperation, news agency PTI reported.

The Budget Session 2023, all set to commence on February 1, will be held in two parts. The session will begin with President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Economic Survey will be tabled after the President's address.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1. The Union Budget 2023-24 may be the last full budget before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The first part of the session will be held from January 31 and will go on till February 13. From Thursday onwards, both Houses will have a discussion on the "Motion Of Thanks to the President Address" after which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply in both Lok and Rajya Sabha.

There will be a recess from February 14 to March 12. And then the session will conclude on April 6. A discussion will take place on the Demand For Grants for various ministries and the Union Budget will be passed. Other legislative businesses will also be taken up by the government during this period.

First Published:Jan 30, 2023 2:23 PM IST