Ahead of monsoon session, govt to convene all-party meet on July 21; TMC to skip

The government has convened an all-party meeting on July 21 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament which will start next Monday, the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said.

The meeting, which will be held at 11 am on Sunday, has been called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, the ministry said in a statement.

This will be Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's first time at the customary session-eve meeting of floor leaders from all parties if he attends it.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) said no representatives from the party will attend the meeting as July 21 is observed by the party as Martyrs' Day.

TMC's parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien wrote to Rijiju and informed him that his party will not be able to attend the meet.

"For 30 years now, 21st July has been observed as 'Martyrs' Day' in Bengal in honour of our 13 colleagues who were unlawfully killed in a police firing on the day in 1993.

"In this context, all MPs of the All India Trinamool Congress including myself will be in our home state to mark the day along with other party colleagues. Therefore, no MP will be able to attend the meeting," he said.

The July 21 Martyrs' Day is observed in memory of 13 Congress supporters who were shot dead in firing by the Kolkata Police in 1993 during a march to the state secretariat -- Writers Buildings -- when the CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power in West Bengal.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the state Youth Congress chief at that time and she continued to mark the day by holding a rally every year even after forming the TMC on January 1, 1998.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament is scheduled to begin on July 22 and will conclude on August 12. The Union Budget will be presented on July 23.

The first Parliament session after the formation of the 18th Lok Sabha witnessed the opposition INDIA bloc raising issues like the recent NEET controversy, Manipur situation, and price rise among others, resulting in uproars and adjournments.

Protests were also witnessed in both Houses during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address. In the Lok Sabha, opposition MPs raised slogans demanding a statement on Manipur during the prime minister's reply, while in the Rajya Sabha, the opposition had staged a walkout.