An all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of Parliament’s monsoon session took place on Sunday morning. During the meeting, the JD(U) and YSRCP called for special status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, while the Congress reiterated its demand for the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker’s post for the Opposition. JD(U), a key ally in the ruling NDA, had recently passed a resolution demanding special category status or package for Bihar. Though leaders from Andhra Pradesh had been demanding special category status for the state, the demand has again gained momentum after the Lok Sabha polls.Leaders from various political parties attended, including BJP President JP Nadda, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, and Union Minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, were also present to provide the government’s perspective.Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi raised issues such as the NEET-UG paper leak, alleged misuse of central agencies like the ED and CBI and sought the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker position for the Opposition. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav addressed the issue of nameplates on food shops along the Kanwar route in Uttar Pradesh, sources said.In a post on X, Congress Jairam 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.”In another post, the Congress leader said, “How the political climate has changed! In the all-party meeting of floor leaders, the BJD leader reminded the Defence Minister and BJP President JP Nadda that the BJP’s manifesto for the 2014 assembly elections in Odisha had promised special category status to the state.” Ramesh’s post on social media came when the meeting was still underway.BJD leader Sasmit Patra told reporters that his party demanded special category status for Odisha.The customary meeting before Monday’s Parliament session was also attended by Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and K Suresh, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, RJD’s Abhay Kushwaha, JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, and NCP’s Praful Patel.A united opposition is anticipated to challenge the NDA government on various issues, including the NEET paper leak case and railway safety.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday and will table the Economic Survey in Parliament on Monday.The session will include 19 sittings until August 12, during which the government is expected to introduce six bills, including one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act, and seek Parliament’s approval for Jammu and Kashmir’s budget, which is under central rule.
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