New Delhi: The government has said it would 'leave no stone unturned' to ensure the passage of the triple talaq bill in the Budget session of Parliament starting Monday, and asserted that it would talk to various parties for a consensus on the issue.
The government met leaders of political parties at a meeting in Parliament House Sunday and also sought their cooperation in ensuring the success of the crucial session during which the Union Budget would be presented.
The all-party meeting was attended by prime minister Narendra Modi, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, besides leaders of opposition and other parties.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also held a dinner meeting with party leaders for the session's smooth functioning and said the leaders had assured her of their cooperation.
Addressing the floor leaders of the various parties in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, PM Modi said the government accords importance to issues raised by the parties and urged their leaders to create a 'constructive atmosphere for the national good'.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kumar described the meeting as 'fruitful', and said the prime minister urged the leaders of the parties to make the session successful.
"We will leave no stone unturned and persuade and request all political parties so that the bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha, as it has been in the Lok Sabha," he said when asked about the triple talaq bill after the meeting.
"We are very hopeful that the bill which is going to negate 'Talaq-e-Biddat' and pave the way for empowering Muslim women will be passed in the Rajya Sabha, too," he said.
Kumar said that he, along with ministers of state for parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel and Arjun Ram Meghwal, will approach various political parties to evolve a consensus for its passage.
Kumar said the prime minister stressed the need to strengthen the system of Parliamentary Committees, where members spoke freely in the absence of the media and deliberated on issues of national interest.
Avoid 'tokenism'
Modi urged all political parties to avoid 'tokenism' in the Standing Committees of Parliament and asked them to give concrete solutions to issues of national importance.
Kumar said the prime minister told leaders of various parties to make the system of committees a role model of participative democracy that could be adopted by state legislatures across the country.
The opposition, however, said it planned to counter the government on issues such as incidents of rape and other atrocities on women, alleged attacks on the Constitution and constitutional institutions and the plight of traders, besides the recent incident of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh.
While the government wants to push the passage of the triple talaq bill during the session, it will present the Economic Survey Monday after a joint address by the president. The General Budget will be presented by the finance minister on February 1.
The session is likely to conclude on April 6, with 31 sittings spread over 68 days. Parliament will be adjourned for a recess on February 9 and reassemble on March 5.
The opposition was represented at the meeting by Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), D Raja (CPI), Kanimozhi (DMK), Derek O'Brien and Sudip Bandhopadhyay (TMC), Tariq Anwar (NCP) and Dushyant Chautala (INLD).
Read more: Union Budget