Meeting of NDA leaders cancelled

Government today cancelled the meeting of NDA leaders convened tomorrow to work out strategy ahead of the winter session of Parliament beginning November 26 that is expected to be stormy.
Sources said the meeting of NDA leaders scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed due to the death of VHP patron Ashok Singhal in a Gurgaon hospital today. His cremation will take place tomorrow.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu was to meet the leaders of all NDA allies at his residence to chalk out the government plans on its legislative business and floor coordination plans amid indications of the Opposition parties closing ranks on various issues.

Naidu will hold a meeting with NDA leaders later now and with all other Opposition parties within a week. Lok Sabha Speaker holds an all-party meeting a day or two before the Session begins.
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh met here on November 9, a day after BJP's rout in Bihar polls, and decided to hold the session between November 26 and December 23.
Kumar downplayed the attacks of Congress, the Left and

some other parties on the government over the Arunachal issue, saying all issues can be debated in Parliament.
"The meeting was very fruitful. Congress has offered support based on merit of the bills. We have assured all parties that there will be open-mindedness and we are ready to discuss all issues," he said.

Growing incidents of terror attacks in different parts of the world and their implications for the country, foreign policy, floods in states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand were listed by Kumar among the issues to be discussed in Parliament.
The government's legislative agenda includes taking up 16 bills, including three to replace ordinances.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Naresh Agrawal of Samajwadi Party warned against "match-fixing" between the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress and asked it to speak to all parties.
Some opposition leaders also asked Modi for increasing the sittings of Parliament.
Modi "welcomed" the suggestion but urged them to ensure proper utilisation of the available time, official sources said.

With the opposition set to raise the issue of India's failure to get a berth in the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, the government has said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was ready for discussion on issues including Prime Minister's recent foreign tours.
Besides the GST, another key legislation pending passage is the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which was moved in December last year but the discussion on it had remained inconclusive. In the Budget Session this year, this bill could not be taken up for debate.
In the Lok Sabha, important pending bills include the Consumer Protection Bill 2015 and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015.

The last few sessions of Parliament have seen frequent face-offs between the ruling and the opposition benches but the second part of the Budget Session saw a relative improvement as far as the completion of government business was concerned.