Government seeks opposition's cooperation in all-party meet

New Delhi: The Central government on Thursday sought cooperation from the opposition parties for smooth functioning of the Parliament, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi assuring them that the issues raised by them would be given due importance.

Addressing the all-party meeting, the Prime Minister also said that government's focus is on issues of national importance and finding solutions to problems of the people.

"The country expects from all of us to perform our duties as parliamentarians in a positive manner and we must deliver to the expectations of the people," he said.

As a host of issues were brought up by the leaders of parties during the meeting, the Prime Minister assured them that issues raised by them would be taken into consideration by the government and given due importance.

During the meeting, the government requested all parties, especially the opposition, for their co-operation for smooth functioning of both Houses of Parliament and said it is ready for a constructive discussion on every issue of national importance as permitted under Rules of Procedure.

"There was a consensus across party lines on ensuring smooth functioning of the Parliament without disruptions and deadlocks to be resolved through constructive discussions in both Houses," an official statement from the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Interim Budget Session of Parliament, 2019 has commenced with the President's address to both Houses of Parliament in Central Hall.

He said that the session would provide a total of 10 sittings spread over a period of 14 days.

The session would mainly be devoted to the financial business relating to Interim Budget for 2019 and discussion on the Motion of Thanks on President's address.

However, essential legislative and other business would also be taken up during the session, he said.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Trinamool's Derek O'Brian, RJD's Misa Bharti and J.P. Yadav, DMK's Kanimozhi, NCP's Supriya Sule and CPI's D. Raja were present in the meeting.

From the government side, the meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel and Arjun Ram Meghwal.