Winter Session of Parliament Begins Today: 19 Meetings Over 26 Days

The Winter Session of the Indian Parliament begins today, marking the start of a 26-day session with 19 scheduled meetings. However, there will be no parliamentary proceedings on November 26, as the day will be observed as Constitution Day. The main event for Constitution Day will take place in the central hall of Parliament, where the Constitution of India was adopted on November 26, 1949.

Ahead of the session, the government convened an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Sunday to ensure smooth functioning of both houses of Parliament. After the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the media that the government is ready to discuss any issue raised during the session. He also urged opposition parties to cooperate in ensuring the smooth conduct of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Rijiju mentioned that leaders of 30 political parties, including 42 party leaders, participated in the meeting and provided their suggestions. He added that these suggestions would be reviewed by the Business Advisory Committee to decide which issues would be raised in Parliament. The Minister emphasized that the government desires a fair and peaceful discussion in both houses.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari stated that the party has demanded discussions on several important issues, including the alleged bribery scandal involving industrialists, the situation in Manipur, unemployment, and air pollution in northern India.

The all-party meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and saw participation from various political leaders, including Union Ministers JP Nadda, Anupriya Patel, and L. Murugan, as well as MPs like BJD’s Sasmit Patra, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav, MDMK’s Vaiko, and Congress’ Jairam Ramesh, among others