Vice President C P Radhakrishnan to formally meet Oppn leaders on October 7

New Delhi: Vice President C P Radhakrishnan will be holding his first formal meeting within a month of his assuming charge as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha with some floor leaders of various parties on October 7, sources said.

Radhakrishnan won the vice presidential election on September 9.

The sources said he would meet some opposition leaders in the evening of October 7 and would later meet more of them in the coming days.

The move comes days ahead of the Winter session of Parliament, which is likely to begin next month.

The exercise of meeting floor leaders is part of his efforts to ensure better ties with opposition leaders, the sources said, adding that this could be seen as a familiarisation move.

Though some opposition leaders met Radhakrishnan on September 12, soon after he assumed charge as Rajya Sabha Chairman, to congratulate him. But the forthcoming meeting is considered his first formal meeting with the leaders of various parties.

His predecessor, Jagdeep Dhankhar, who suddenly resigned as vice president before his tenure, had strained ties with the opposition which had also unsuccessfully moved a motion to remove him from office.