Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches out to opposition, hopes Monsoon Session

Modi said, “Today Monsoon session begins”.

“If the opposition is aggressive, we will also be in combat mode”, he said. Speaking on the contentious land acquisition bill, which had been a cause of confrontation with the Congress and other opposition parties in the past, Finance minister Arun Jaitley has already stated that the Centre was planning to leave it to the states to implement their own land acquisition laws.

Underlining that the all-party meeting on Monday was held in a “good atmposphere”, he said the government’s effort has always been to take collective decisions to push the country ahead in the path of development.

The government also made it clear that BJP members would seek discussion on controversies faced by past and present Congress chief ministers, including Tarun Gogoi and Oommen Chandy if the Congress raked up issues concerning its chief ministers.

There are some bills like the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011 which were introduced by the then UPA government but are yet to be passed by the Parliament.

But the Congress party has indicated it will use the current monsoon session to demand the resignation of a number of scandal-hit leaders of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Sensing that the opposition is geared up to corner it over the Lalit Modi issue and Vyapam entrance cum recruitment scam of Madhya Pradesh, BJP announced that it would match the opposition fire with fire after a series of meetings on Sunday.

The Samajwadi Party’s Naresh Aggarwal said the two chief ministers must resign, but emphasised that his party is not demanding the removal of Sushma Swaraj. Hopeful that Parliament will pass important bills.

Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are under attack for their links with Lalit Modi, the controversial former IPL Chairman who is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering. Our MPs have given notices to discuss Uttarakhand relief scam, Goa and Assam watergate scams which has Congress leaders and ministers involved.

Fissures in the Opposition camp to the fore in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday when several regional parties and socialist leaders favoured debate and discussion on the Lalitgate controversy against the Congress’ demand for the resignation of Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

“There is no question of accepting an ultimatum from anybody, nobody can dictate [terms] to parliament“, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said.

Curiously, she also referred to a TV channel, without naming it, that had led the attack on her and mentioned that in the past, its owner, though facing FEMA charges, had been allowed to go overseas for medical treatment, thus pointing out its similarity to the Lalit Modi case.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged industrialists to hire more apprentices irrespective of their profit margins and said that it is their social responsibility to do so.