16 parties take part in Opposition party leaders' meet led by Kharge

New Delhi [India], March 13 : Sixteen parties participated in the Opposition party leaders' meeting chaired by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament on Monday.
Indian National Congress; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK), Janata Dal (United); Aam Admi Party; Communist Party of India (Marxist); Kerala Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal; Nationalist Congress Party; Communist Party of India; Indian Union Muslim League; Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray); Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Revolutionary Socialist Party; Rashtriya Janata Dal; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the NC.
Earlier today, a meeting of Congress MPs under the chairmanship of party president Mallikarjun Kharge was held at the party's Parliamentary Party (CPP) office in Parliament to chalk out the strategy.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were present in the meeting. Congress Lok Sabha Sabha and Rajya Sabha members also participated in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting to decide the strategy for Budget session.
Talking to ANI ahead of the start of the proceedings of the day, Kharge said, "Opposition leaders will bring up every issue including unemployment, inflation and raids by ED-CBI. We will take the opinions of all opposition leaders to form a strategy".
Kharge on Sunday met Vice President and Upper House Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar in the national capital on the eve of the commencement of the second part of Budget Session and sought his cooperation.
Kharge said that the Opposition parties are "keen to play" a constructive role in in making the government accountable.
The Budget session of 2023 resumed after a month-long recess. The recess was for enabling the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees to examine the demands for grants and make reports relating to their ministries or departments.
The focus of the second part of the Budget Session which resumes on 13th March will be on the demand for grants and passage of the Union Budget. The government is also likely to bring in legislation for passage in this part.
As per the records, about 26 Bills are currently pending in the Rajya Sabha and close to 9 in the Lok Sabha for passage.Two Bills - The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 were referred to a Joint Committee by the government last Winter Session and they are currently being examined by the panel. It is known through sources that the CP Joshi-led panel discussing the Multi-State Cooperative Bill will be presenting its report in Parliament in the upcoming session. This panel has completed its discussion on the Bill and is likely to adopt its draft report on 13th March.
The government will also list The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which was scrutinised by a Joint Committee of Parliament.
It is also known through the sources that the government may bring the keenly awaited Personal Data Protection Bill in the upcoming session. This Bill is likely to be cleared by the Union Cabinet soon.
Amongst the Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha, three Bills have already been passed by Lok Sabha including The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022.