ALL-PARTY MEET

ing the all-party meeting. On behalf of the government, defence minister Rajnath Singh sought cooperation from all the parties for productive and smooth functioning of the House.

Singh said the government is ready for discussions on all the issues permitted by the speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman under the rules.

Kharge said the parties would cooperate with the government on the issues of public interest.

A total of 31 parties attended the pre-session meet

At the meet, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party, a regional political party based in Andhra Pradesh, demanded that a joint parliamentary committee be formed to deliberate with stakeholders on giving statutory backing to MSP..

“The YSR Congress demands that the Centre should engage with all stakeholders for bringing a statutory resolution for MSP by forming a joint parliamentary committee,” Reddy told reporters after the meeting.

The bill to repeal three farm laws is listed for introduction and passage in Lok Sabha.

Farmer unions, which have been protesting against the three farm laws, have already stated that they would continue with their protest till the government does not give a legal guarantee on minimum support price

Besides, several parties such as the TMC, YSR Congress and the DMK on Sunday demanded that the women’s reservation bill be taken up in the upcoming session of the Parliament, sources said.

The parties conveyed that it is time that women are given their due representation in the policy-making of the country, they said.

The 15th Lok Sabha could not pass the bill and the Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, which was pending in the Lower House since 2010, lapsed following its dissolution in 2014.

The bill provided for 33 percent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years.

Any bill pending in Lok Sabha lapses with the dissolution of the House.

Bills pending in Rajya Sabha are put in the ‘live register’ and can be taken up subsequently.