New Delhi: At the all-party meeting convened on Sunday by the government ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session, several issues, including the Kanwar Yatra, NEET paper leak, and the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha, were raised, sources said.

The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by BJP leaders JP Nadda and Kiren Rijiju. Congress representatives included Gaurav Gogoi, Jairam Ramesh, and K Suresh. Other attendees included Chirag Paswan of LJP (Ram Vilas), Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Sanjay Singh from the Aam Aadmi Party, Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM, and Praful Patel of the Nationalist Congress Party.

During the meeting, the Samajwadi Party and AAP raised concerns about the Uttar Pradesh government's controversial directive for eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the owners' names. Gaurav Gogoi from Congress advocated for the Opposition to fill the vacant position of Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker.

The demand for special category status for states was another key topic. Janata Dal (United), LJP (Ram Vilas), and Rashtriya Janata Dal demanded special status for Bihar, while Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRCP called for the same for Andhra Pradesh. Jairam Ramesh criticized the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for not raising a similar demand for Andhra Pradesh despite being an ally of the BJP.

"In today's all-party meeting of floor leaders chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the JD(U) leader demanded special category status for Bihar. The YSRCP leader demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Strangely, the TDP leader kept quiet on the matter," Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on Monday, July 22, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to present the Union Budget on Tuesday, July 23. The Opposition plans to challenge the NDA government on various issues, including the NEET paper leak case and railway safety, during the session.

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