PM Modi convened a meeting with senior Union ministers to discuss on Center’s strategy in Parliament

The BJD's official stance came as a significant blow to the united Opposition's efforts to gather a majority and defeat the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a meeting with top ministers to discuss the government’s strategy in Parliament in the ongoing Monsoon session.  Union Ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Pralhad Joshi, Piyush Goyal, Anurag Singh Thakur, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and Arjun Ram Meghwal were present in the meeting.

The meeting comes on a day, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, will lead a delegation of MPs from I.N.D.I.A to the Rashtrapati Bhavan for a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu.

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The delegation of Opposition leaders will hand in a memoradum on the Manipur situation to the President.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the visit to Rashptapati Bhavan, Kharge said the 21-member delegation will bring the Manipur situation to the notice of the President.

The meeting is scheduled at 11.30 am, after the Parliament reconvenes. As the Lok Sabha reconvenes on Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for consideration and passage.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Biju Janata Dal MP Sasmit Patra told ANI that his party will support the government on the Delhi Services Bill to replace the Centre’s Ordinance earlier.

The BJD’s official stand came as a blow to the united Opposition, which has been trying to cobble up a majority to defeat the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Also, on Tuesday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram hit out at the BJD and YSRCP for extending their support to the Centre over the Bill. The former Home Minister said he failed to understand what merit they found in the proposed legislation.

“I can understand BJP MPs supporting the Delhi Services Authority Bill, but I fail to understand what merit in the bill was found by the BJD and YSRCP parties,” Chidambaram said in a tweet.

The contentious Bill was introduced in the Lower House by the Union Minister for State for Home, Nityanand Rai on Tuesday.

The Bill empowers the Central Government to make rules in connection with the affairs of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi including the functions, terms and other conditions of service of officers and employees.

The Centre on May 19 promulgated the Ordinance for control of services in Delhi.

The Ordinance was promulgated days after the Supreme Court, through a ruling, vested the power to conrol Services in the national capital in the AAP government.