NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday sought the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker’s position for the opposition in the all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of Parliament session, and raised the issue of paper leaks, including of the prestigious NEET, sources said.Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said at the meeting that the opposition should be allowed to raise issues in Parliament after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju sought cooperation from every party for the smooth running of the two Houses, the sources said.Briefing reporters after the meeting, Rijiju said 55 leaders from 44 parties attended the all-party meeting where useful discussion took place.He said running Parliament smoothly was the collective responsibility of the government and Opposition and that the government was open to discussing any issue in Parliament by following laid down rules.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meeting, referred to the opposition’s continuous protests during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech during the last session, and said such incidents should not happen in Parliament.During the meeting, Samajwadi Party MP Ramgopal Yadav raised the issue of the Uttar Pradesh government’s controversial directive to eateries on the ‘kanwariya’ route to display the owners’ names, the sources said.The YSR Congress spoke about the TDP government’s alleged targeting of its leaders in Andhra Pradesh and sought the Centre’s intervention.Claiming that lawlessness prevails in Andhra Pradesh, it said President’s rule was the only solution.At the meeting, YSRCP MP Vijaysai Reddy also flagged the issue of funds for Andhra Pradesh from the central pool.He said states following population control were being punished in share of revenue and the issue must be addressed by the Finance Commission.The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) raised the issue of alleged assault on an officer by the Odisha governor’s son, saying it seems he was above law.BJD MP Sasmit Patra said after the meeting that his party will play the role of a strong opposition on the floor of the House and underlined that his party was neither with the opposition INDIA Bloc nor the government.The BJD faced reverses in the recent assembly polls in Odisha and failed to open its account in the Lok Sabha polls.Separately, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that in the all-party meeting, the JD(U) and the YSRCP demanded special category status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh respectively but “strangely” the TDP kept quiet on the matter.YSRCP MP Reddy also questioned the silence of TDP on the issue of special category status for Andhra.In a post on X, Ramesh, who was present at the meeting said, “In today’s all-party meeting of floor leaders chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the JD(U) leader demanded special category status of Bihar. The YSRCP leader demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Strangely, the TDP leader kept quiet on the matter.”
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