Modi will meet key Opposition floor managers today

Sensing that recent incidents like the flareup at Jawaharlal Nehru University along with the constitutional crisis in Arunachal Pradesh and the Pathankot terror attack have given the Congress-led Opposition enough ammunition to disrupt the coming Budget Session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting of leaders of all major political parties in both Houses on Tuesday. Sources said the main aim of the meeting will be to ensure that the proceedings are smooth when Parliament meets on February 23.

This is the first time after he became Prime Minister that Mr Modi has convened a meeting of leaders (who are also floor managers) of political parties before a Parliament session.

It is being seen as a way to reach out to the Opposition, mainly Congress, to enable the peaceful working of Parliament and also to prevent a washout.

The sources clarified that it was not an all-party meeting, as that is something which the Lok Sabha Speaker calls just a day before a session begins. The meeting which the PM has convened is of all floor managers of major parties to ensure a disruption-free session.

The meeting comes as the government is trying to push key reform bills like GST and labour laws, and soon after the PM Narendra Modi accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-chief Rahul Gandhi of disrupting Parliament to avenge the Congress’ defeat in the 2014 polls. A few days ago former PM Manmohan Singh accused the Modi Government of not engaging the Congress seriously to break the logjam over GST.