Raise issue to make govt reconsider stand: Modi to Oppn

On the eve of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the Opposition to leave no stone unturned to raise issues in the House that would force the government to reconsider its stand and move ahead.

Modi made these remarks at an all-party meeting convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar to discuss the issues the Opposition wanted to raise in Parliament and the government's agenda for the Monsoon Session.

"When the Opposition raises issues, asks questions and discusses, it also provides the government an opportunity to reconsider (its position) and move ahead. The Opposition should leave no stone unturned to raise issues," Kumar quoted Modi as saying during the meeting.

The meeting was attended by senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and Jyotiraditya Scindia; NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar; Ramgopal Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav of the SP; T K Rangarajan and Mohd Salim of the CPM; D Raja of the CPI; Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal; Sanjay Singh and Bhagwant Mann of the AAP; Jose K Mani of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and P K Kunhalikutti of the IUML, among others.

"The entire country expects and hopes the Parliament will function and debate over issues of national interest," Modi was quoted as saying in the House.

The Monsoon Session, which begins on Wednesday, will have 18 sittings and will continue till August 10.

The government has lined up a heavy legislative agenda for the session that includes 46 bills for introduction, consideration and passing.

In addition, the government would also seek parliamentary nod for the supplementary demands for grants, including for the railways, for the 2018-19 financial year.

Bills for criminalising triple talaq, prohibiting discrimination of transgenders and amendments to the Right to Information Act top the government agenda for the session.

The previous Budget Session of Parliament was the least productive session since 2000, with the Lok Sabha clocking productivity at a mere 21% and the Rajya Sabha at 31%.