Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that the government is fully prepared to discuss all issues on the floor of parliament in the monsoon session beginning tomorrow. He alleged that there are many skeletons in the cupboard of the opposition. Dr. Singh told reporters at the side lines of a function in New Delhi that the fate of the Lokpal bill will be decided by Parliament. He said that, Parliament is a sovereign body and it should be allowed to function and discharge its duty. On Telangana MPs and MLAs resigning over the statehood demand, Dr. Singh hoped that the government will be able to overcome the crises.The all party meeting convened by the Lok Sabha Speaker Mrs. Meira Kumar to seek support of all the parties for smooth functioning concluded in the afternoon. Leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the meeting that the party will take up internal security, Lokpal and issues relating to corruption in the session.The monsoon session is likely to continue for about six weeks. The Government has decided to introduce 32 new bills including the Lokpal Bill. The other important bills to be introduced include Land Acquisition Bill, Food Security Bill, the Benami Transactions Bill and the Mines and Minerals Bill.The Opposition meanwhile has planned to raise issues like inflation, Telangana, rail accidents and Maoist violence in the session.Prime Minister today called on President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and apprised her about the forthcoming session and other national and international issues. An official press release said that the meeting between the two leaders lasted for 30 minutes. Her visit to Republic of Korea and Mangolia and various other issues of national and international importance also came up for discussion.
News On AIR | July 31, 2011 5:31 PM
Government prepared to discuss all issues on the floor of parliament: PM